A new study, published July 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests heart failure (HF) may be moderately hereditary.

The FDA has cleared a less-invasive implant approach for Medtronic’s HeartWare HVAD system, allowing the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to be placed through a small incision between the ribs. It is the first LVAD approved in the U.S. to be inserted with this technique, according to Medtronic.

New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests an association between black postmenopausal women who are carriers of apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) genotypes and hospitalizations for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The findings, however, do not support an association between APOL1 genotypes and coronary heart disease, stroke or mortality.

Human stem cells helped restore left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in monkeys induced with experimental heart failure, giving scientists hope a similar treatment could work in humans following myocardial infarction.

The thinking behind the Seattle Proportional Risk Model goes like this: As the annual risk for all-cause mortality increases, the likelihood that the death will be sudden—or something an ICD could prevent—goes down.

Just a week after Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston reopened its heart transplant program, CMS sent a letter to the hospital saying it will cut off funding for the program beginning Aug. 17.

Continuing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) appeared to offer no benefit to patients who received a continuous flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD), according to a multicenter study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Heart failure patients treated at hospitals with lower 30-day mortality rates also enjoy a survival benefit one, three and even five years later, suggesting a short-term risk-standardized mortality rate (RSMR) may deserve additional weight in CMS’s financial incentive programs.