A possible shortage of heparin, one of the most popular blood thinners on the market, is threatening the U.S., according to a viewpoint published in The Lancet on Jan. 23.

Injection drug users prescribed controlled release hydromorphone—an opioid—are three times more likely to develop endocarditis than users prescribed other opioids, according to work published Jan. 22 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The jury is out: vaping, or e-cigarette use, is a national epidemic in the U.S.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based nonprofit Additional Ventures announced Jan. 21 it would be awarding a total of $5.7 million to five institutions for research on single ventricle heart defects.

A recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology supports evidence that paclitaxel-coated balloons may pose more risk than reward for patients with symptoms of critical limb ischemia.

Medtronic announced Jan. 21 it had received FDA approval for its Micra AV device—the world’s smallest pacemaker with atrioventricular synchrony.

A two-year collaboration between the North Carolina chapter of the American College of Cardiology and North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics was successful in providing thousands of underserved heart patients with free lipid-lowering therapy and clopidogrel.

More than 15% of adults in all U.S. states and territories were physically inactive between 2015 and 2018, according to recent data from the CDC, with estimates ranging from 17.3% to 47.7% between regions.