Acute coronary syndrome patients who were given a loading dose of atorvastatin before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) experienced a 28 percent reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) over the following 30 days, according to a secondary analysis of the randomized SECURE-PCI trial published in JAMA Cardiology.

Cardiologists at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit have successfully performed the country’s first implantation of the Neovasc Reducer—a stainless steel, hourglass-shaped heart mesh designed to alleviate difficult angina—the hospital announced in a statement Sept. 26.

Twenty-three hospitals from across Arkansas have joined the Arkansas Heart Attack Registry (AHAR), a collaborative effort to reduce the impact of myocardial infarctions in the state, THV 11 reported this week.

Stem cells in the embryo, previously thought to mature into only red blood or immune system cells, have another function, according to new research out of University College London. They can differentiate into endothelial cells, too, and could help in the growth of blood vessels in developing fetuses.

Biopharmaceutical company Amarin this week announced the topline results of its REDUCE-IT trial, a global study that achieved 25 percent cardiovascular risk reduction in a population of 8,179 statin-treated adults with the daily use of Vascepa, also known as icosapent ethyl.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP)—a common condition that’s rarely serious—might boost heart patients’ risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD), researchers reported in the BMJ journal Heart this week.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided stent implantation offers improved clinical outcomes for heart patients over a traditional angiography-guided approach, researchers from China reported at this week’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting in San Diego, California.

The Eluvia drug-eluting vascular stent system has been approved by the FDA, device maker Boston Scientific announced Sept. 24—just two days after results from the IMPERIAL trial were presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2018 meeting.