TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for August 2016

Ups and downs in the device industry garnered the most readers on TCTMD in August, when the US Food and Drug Administration approved the Absorb bioresorbable stent and extended TAVR indications for the Sapien XT and Sapien 3 devices to intermediate-risk patients. But not all the news was good news, as companies drew attention to complications—some fatal—with certain TAVR technologies.

Our biggest stories covered the health benefits of plant proteins, the importance of palliative care, and the continued emphasis on LDL targets in Europe, among other topics.

Global Recall for Certain Lotus Valve Systems Following Reports of Death, Catastrophic Vessel Trauma

Boston Scientific has voluntarily recalled several lots of the system made before March of this year.

The Bioresorbable Stent Story So Far: What Promise? What Price?

Excitement, albeit cautious, as well as some enthusiastic adoption have greeted the introduction of the Absorb BVS stent into US clinical practice.

Medtronic Warns of Vascular Trauma, Some Resulting in Death, With CoreValve’s EnVeo R Delivery Catheter

The company is telling physicians not to force the delivery catheter if resistance is encountered and highlighting other higher-risk scenarios.

FDA Approves Sapien XT and Sapien 3 for Intermediate-Risk Patients

The expanded indication for the two Edwards Lifesciences transcatheter valves marks the first US foray of TAVR into a population at less than high risk.

Coronary Perforations During PCI: Rare but Risky, BCIS Data Show

Though only 0.33% of cases involved perforation, interventionalists should have all the tools ready in the cath lab and a plan in mind, lead author urges.

Plants and Animals: Protein’s Link to Mortality and Cardiovascular Death Depends on Its Source

Data derived from healthcare workers show subbing vegetable proteins for meat can lower the risk of death in those with unhealthy habits like smoking.

NOACs as Effective as Warfarin for Reducing Stroke, but Apixaban and Dabigatran May Carry Lower Bleeding Risk: Registry

A large, nationwide cohort study testing the safety and effectiveness of several novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation offers new insights into how these drugs stack up against warfarin in the real world.

AHA Makes Case for Palliative Care in Advanced Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

The policy statement calls for the use of palliative care starting early on in the disease process and offers advice on how to increase its availability.

Drug-Coated Balloons Best Suited for In-Stent Restenosis in BMS, not DES

With DCBs, patients treated for DES restenosis showed signs of more MI and TLR at 1 year even after propensity matching.

Focus on LDL Cholesterol Targets With Statin Therapy, New ESC-EAS Cholesterol Guidelines Say

The European advice diverges from US guidelines, staying the course on treating very-high-risk and high-risk patients to hard LDL cholesterol targets.

Find the latest news from the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 and this year’s other big meetings on our conference news page. Be sure to check out the Heart Beat, where you can find feature articles on everything from cardiology in the Brexit era to left atrial appendage clots in TAVR.