A 61-year-old patient at the West Virginia University Heart and Vascular Institute is the first in the state to receive a successful heart transplant, WVU reported Nov. 10.

Multiarterial CABG was linked to lower rates of long-term mortality, reintervention and MI than single-arterial CABG in a recent study of heart patients, suggesting the multiarterial approach is underused in contemporary practice.

Two studies reach conflicting conclusions while underscoring the need for best practice guidelines to fill the current vacuum.

Hackensack University Medical Center is the first practice in the U.S. to successfully perform heart surgeries using Abiomed’s Impella 5.5 LVAD.

Frailty assessments are a good value for their money in older patients considering CABG, according to a study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, but a limited geriatric consultation workforce could curb that benefit in real-life practice.

Urine flow rate-guided hydration, as opposed to left ventricular end-diastolic pressure-guided hydration, could prevent more complications in CKD patients who are at a high risk for contrast-induced kidney injury.

Results from the late-breaking TWILIGHT trial suggest that, among high-risk patients who have undergone PCI and completed three months of dual antiplatelet therapy, it’s safer to continue treatment with ticagrelor alone rather than add aspirin to that cocktail.

A shortened, three-month course of dual antiplatelet therapy might be a safer bet than 12-month treatment for patients at a high risk of bleeding after PCI and implantation of a drug-eluting stent.