Roche Blood Test for Lp(a) Designated Breakthrough Device A blood test that measures lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has received breakthrough device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. The Tina-quant Lp(a) RxDx assay, developed by Roche in partnership with Amgen, is designed to identify adults with elevated Lp(a) levels who may benefit from lipid-lowering therapies currently in development.

New TAVI Platform Adds More Valve Sizes to Choose From Intermediate valve sizes are at least as safe and effective as the standard sizes now available for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), according to an international randomized trial.

FDA Okays First Extravascular ICD System The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Medtronic's novel "extravascular" implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (Aurora EV-ICD) system, which uses a single lead implanted substernally to allow anti-tachycardia pacing and low-energy defibrillation while avoiding the vascular space for lead placement.

New Tool to Guide Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Researchers developed TJ-ICE–guided TAVR to facilitate implanting a heart valve at an optimal depth, guided by direct visualization of the membranous septum (MS) during the procedure.

Redefining CVD Risk: Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Syndrome Citing the strong overlap between heart disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, the American Heart Association (AHA) has for the first time formally defined what they are calling cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

ACP Revises Standard on Cardiorespiratory Death Determination The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a new position paper on determination of death that includes a clarification to the 1981 Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), but otherwise reaffirms the current standards.

AHA Updates CPR Guidelines on Cardiac Arrest After Poisoning The American Heart Association (AHA) has released a focused update on managing patients with cardiac arrest or life-threatening toxicity due to poisoning. The update reflects treatment advances and new knowledge, including the use of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) for patients whose condition is refractory to poison antidotes and other therapies.

Nobel Prize Awarded to Covid Vaccine Pioneers The physiology or medicine prize for Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman recognized work that led to the development of vaccines that were administered to billions around the world.

Main results of the 2023 European Society of Cardiology Congress The next annual Congress of the European Society of Cardiology was held in a hybrid format (onsite and online) from August 25 to 28, 2023 inAmsterdam (Netherlands). About 31,000 specialists from 150 countries took part in the event. Traditionally, the most anticipated events at the congress are the scientific HOT LINE sessions, where the results of the most important clinical trials are presented for the first time.clinical trials. This year, participants had the opportunity to learn about 29 specially selected randomised trials in 9 sessions over 4 days.

ESC Issues First Comprehensive Cardiomyopathy Guidelines The European Society of Cardiology has released new guidelines for cardiomyopathies, their first major comprehensive international guidelines to address diagnosis and treatment of the broad causes of heart muscle dysfunction.