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.

World Red Cross Day and Red Crescent Day World Red Cross Day and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on 8 May every year. This date is the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, who was born on 8 May 1828 at Geneva, Switzerland, and died on 30 October 1910 at Heiden, Switzerland. He was the founder of (ICRC) International Committee of the Red Cross and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

Lower CVD Risk With Stable DMARD Therapy in Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis The risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is lower in patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who remain on stable disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy than in those whose treatment regimen is not stable.

Novel PCSK9 Inhibitor Reduced LDL by 50% Lerodalcibep, a novel, third-generation proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by more than 50% after 1 year in patients with or at a high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), new phase 3 results showed.

ACC/AHA Issue Updated Atrial Fibrillation Guideline The American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) have issued an updated guideline for preventing and optimally managing atrial fibrillation (AF).

AHA Flags Barriers to Women in Interventional Specialties A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) addresses barriers to entry and retention of women in interventional vascular fields, including interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, and vascular surgery, and proposes potential solutions.

New Marker of Cardiovascular Risk Discovered in T2D A significant quantity of dysfunctional monocytes appears to indicate poor cardiovascular prognosis in patients with type 2 diabetes.

New Score Predicts Risk for Death on Heart Transplant List Allocation score, called the US candidate risk score (US-CRS), outperformed the current therapy-based 6-status system in rank ordering heart transplant candidates by medical urgency.

Near-Death Experiences During CPR: An Impetus for Better Care If someone has been in cardiac arrest for 10 minutes, the brain is permanently damaged and there's nothing to do, right? Not so according to emerging evidence that suggests that the brain shows signs of electrical recovery for as long as an hour into ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This time between cardiac arrest and awakening can be a period of vivid experiences for the dying patient before they return to life — a phenomenon known as "recalled death."