Vanishing stent successfully implanted in Agra hospital (India)

Doctors at a super-speciality hospital in Agra, India, have for the first time successfully implanted a bioresorbable vascular scaffold or vanishing stent into a businessman for coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD develops when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked by a build-up of fatty deposits called plaque. As a result, it gets harder for the arteries to supply blood to the heart. BVS or Absorb is the latest advance in CAD therapy. A non-metallic mesh tube is delivered on an angioplasty balloon to treat a narrowed artery, similar to a stent, but it slowly dissolves once the blocked artery can function naturally again and stay open on its own, said senior cardiologist at the Lotus Super Speciality Hospital, Suvir Gupta

Unnecessary Stent Lawyers announce website for cardiac patients (USA)

The attorneys at Morgan and Morgan have announced that a website has been launched for patients who have undergone a cardiac catheterization or stent procedure. The site was developed in light of reports that some doctors and hospitals may be unnecessarily ordering these procedures in an attempt to increase their own revenue. On the site, patients can learn more about these allegations and find out how they can determine whether their cardiac stent procedure was necessary. Visit the website at unnecessarystentlawyers.com

Cardiology medical malpractice cases are on the rise (USA)

Cardiology patients who have received surgically implanted coronary artery stents on a possibly medically unnecessary basis have been contacting their local medical malpractice attorney in greater numbers than ever in the first three months of this year. Individual as well as class action medical malpractice lawsuits against individual physicians, hospitals, and health care corporations have proliferated after a 2010 audit of coronary artery stent insertions revealed that the procedures were considered to be unwarranted in at least 140 patients at one hospital alone. Medical malpractice falls under the category of personal injury law. Though an attorney who files a case against a health care professional may refer to himself as a "medical malpractice attorney", he is in fact licensed and recognized as a personal injury attorney

Improved technology may obviate need for drug when assessing patients for a coronary stent

A new method for measuring narrowing in the arteries of the heart may allow patients to be assessed for a stent without having to take a drug with unpleasant side effects. In England, it is estimated that one in seven men and one in 12 women over the age of 65 experience chest pain called angina caused by narrowing of the arteries in the heart. Around 60,000 such patients a year are fitted with a coronary stent – a wire mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to keep open arteries that risk becoming blocked, leading to a heart attack. However, stents sometimes lead to problems later on as they can promote the growth of scar tissue, leading to re-narrowing of the artery. It is therefore important to determine when a stent is needed and when it might not be worth the risk. The most accurate method currently used to measure narrowing in arteries requires the patient to take a drug such as adenosine that dilates the blood vessels. Now, a refined, investigational drug-free technique may be just as reliable, according to the results of a feasibility study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Angioplasty and heart stents overused by many cardiologists: study

About 15 percent of all cardiac stent implants and angioplasty procedures are probably unnecessary, according to the findings of a new study by U.S. researchers. The findings were published this week in the Journal of the American Heart Association, and come at a time when federal investigators in several states are looking into allegations that some doctors performed unnecessary heart stent implant procedures for financial gain. However, the problems with inappropriate heart stents and angioplasty procedures likely extends beyond just a few rogue doctors. Heart stents and angioplasty are procedures meant to prevent heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems in patients with clogged arteries. The procedures are collectively known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)

Coronary bypass rates drop (USA)

Think of it as bypassing the bypass. U.S. heart patients have been less likely in the past decade to undergo surgery to install a substitute vessel around a clogged coronary artery, with many patients getting a less invasive alternative procedure. Coronary bypass operations decreased by 38 percent per capita in U.S. adults between 2001 and 2008, researchers report in the May 4 Journal of the American Medical Association. Meanwhile, angioplasty procedures - in which a doctor threads a catheter to the heart to open a blockage using a balloon - have stayed nearly constant, with the per capita rate dipping only 4 percent over that time. These catheters nearly always deliver a coated mesh cylinder called a stent, which props open the vessel from the inside. The study's authors calculated the rates by analyzing a national sample more than 5,000 coronary fixes.

For multiple heart blockages, bypass surgery or stents?

"For patients who have several blocked arteries around their heart, the gold standard treatment has long been coronary artery bypass surgery. Now a large clinical trial suggests that drug-coated stents, springy lattice tubes used to prop open clogged arteries, may also work well in patients with multiple blockages. And in some patients, the stents produce equally good results with faster recovery times. The caveats, experts say, are that people with daily or weekly chest pain from advanced coronary artery disease will probably experience slightly better relief from bypass surgery compared to stenting; but they can also count on waiting to get the full benefit of that procedure weeks to months longer than people who get stents. Experts say the study, which is published in The New England Journal of Medicine, brings to light important trade-offs that people with complex coronary artery disease need to weigh before making a decision between the two procedures

Cath Lab of the Future: angioplasty, stents, robots and more

A half century ago, Dr. Mason Sones, working in his cath lab, discovered that he could inject contrast dye selectively into the coronary arteries. His discovery revealed in great detail the anatomic nature of coronary artery disease and, within a very short time, led to the treatments of both bypass graft surgery and angioplasty. Along with Dr. Melvin Judkins, Sones founded an organization dedicated to excellence in imaging and diagnosis of heart disease: the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). This month, SCAI has published a paper forecasting what the cath lab of the future might look like. The paper, titled "The Catheterization Laboratory and Interventional Vascular Suite of the Future: Anticipating Innovations in Design and Function," appears in the current issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. It features predictions on the future of these medical spaces, including advances in technology and design as well as changes in function, staffing and economics

Texas jury awards plaintiff $482 million in Johnson and Johnson stent battle

From Reuters: "A federal jury in Texas has rendered a $482 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson, finding its widely used Cypher stent infringes on the patent of an outside researcher, the company said on Friday. Dr. Bruce Saffran filed the lawsuit, saying that his stent patent was valid and that the healthcare company infringed on it. J&J said the company disagrees with the jury's decision, and will fight it. "We will ask the judge to overturn this verdict and if unsuccessful, we plan to appeal the verdict," a J&J spokesperson said. Saffran's law firm, Dickstein Shapiro LLP, in a release, said the jury deliberated for two hours before returning its verdict. The law firm said another federal jury in the same Marshall, Texas, courthouse three years ago rendered a $431.9 million verdict against Boston Scientific Corp, finding that its Taxus stent also infringed Saffran's patent"

Heart stenting on the rise in Canada

The number of Canadians having blocked heart arteries opened with a non-surgical procedure more than doubled between 1994 and 2005, mirroring trends seen in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, according to a new study. It is unclear whether the increase reflects appropriate use of the procedure, called angioplasty, or has been "too great" - or possibly not great enough - said lead researcher Dr. Ansar Hassan, of Saint John Regional Hospital in Canada. During angioplasty, a balloon-tipped catheter is threaded into a clogged artery to push blockages aside; usually a small mesh tube called a stent is placed in the artery to help keep it from re-narrowing. For the study, published in the American Heart Journal, Hassan and his colleagues looked at government data on all cases of angioplasty and heart bypass surgery - another option for treating blocked heart arteries - across Canada - Reuters

Study finds doctor-patient disconnect (USA)

"The heart patients at Springfield's Baystate Medical Center, Massachusetts, almost all thought the stents used to prop open their arteries would prevent a heart attack. But their doctors had told most of them before the procedure that it would do nothing more than relieve chest pain. This yawning disconnect between what doctors say and patients hear was reported in a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Physicians say the communications gap extends to other types of elective treatments, as well, resulting in patient confusion and perhaps overuse of some procedures"

Patients learn they might have unneeded stents (USA)

St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland, USA whose cardiology business is a focus of a continuing federal health-care fraud investigation, has notified hundreds of its heart patients that they may have received expensive and potentially dangerous coronary implants they didn't need. An internal review, begun last May at the behest of federal investigators and in response to a patient complaint, has turned up 369 patients with stents that appear to have been implanted in their arteries unnecessarily, CEO Jeffrey K. Norman said. Patients began receiving letters alerting them to the finding early last month, and more notifications are expected as the review continues. "We take our interaction and the care of our patients with the utmost seriousness, and so we wanted to alert patients and their physicians to what we found," said Norman. In several cases reviewed by The Baltimore Sun, patients who received coronary stents at St. Joseph - purportedly to open a clogged artery to correct a severe blockage - have since learned they had only minor blockage, if any. Vicki Marrs, pictured, a 55-year-old patient from Conowingo, is typical. She got a stent in July 2008 after arriving at St. Joseph's with chest discomfort and being told one of her arteries was 90 percent blocked. Now doctors and lawyers who have reviewed her files say Marrs had only a 10 percent blockage at most, and that she never suffered from the kind of heart disease described by Doctor Midei 18 months ago

Boston Scientific will pay $716.3M to J&J in settlement over 14 patent lawsuits

"Boston Scientific Corp. said Tuesday it will pay Johnson&Johnson US$716.3 million to settle 14 patent infringement lawsuits related to the use of stents in treating heart disease. Boston Scientific, of Natick, Mass., will pay Johnson&Johnson's subsidiary Cordis Corp. on Thursday, using cash from a legal reserve. New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson&Johnson will record most of the payment as a special item in the fourth quarter. Stents are mesh metal tubes used to prop open arteries after the vessels have been cleared of fatty plaque. Some of the lawsuits being settled are related to Boston Scientific's NIR stent delivery system" - CP

ESC: drug-eluting stents still a hot topic in Barcelona

"Three years after late stent thrombosis set off a firestorm at the European Society of Cardiology Congress here, the flames have died down, and drug-eluting stents are poised to move beyond proving they are not lethal. That's the take home message now that ESC is back in Barcelona, said Spencer King, III, MD, of St. Joseph Hospital, Heart and Vascular Institute in Atlanta, who discussed the current state of the art of drug-eluting stents in this exclusive InFocus video report with Executive Editor Peggy Peck"

Stenting a good option for left main heart artery

"Twelve-year data on treatment of blockage of the left main heart artery indicate that using a drug-coated stent is an effective alternative to bypass surgery, doctors report. The study of 314 people who underwent the procedure between 1997 and 2008 in Poland supports the findings of a large European trial, which found no difference in the death rate between bypass surgery and angioplasty for the condition, according to a report published online August 19 and in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology by a group of physicians from Poland and the United States"

Drug-coated stents are effective for elderly

Stents coated with the drug paclitaxel may be a safe, effective treatment option for coronary artery disease (CAD) patients age 70 and older and shouldn’t be withheld due to advanced patient age, according to a study reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Intervention

Board delays vote on cardiac care bid (USA)

"Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama, must wait until at least July to learn if its proposal to do procedures that will open clogged arteries will move forward in the required state approval process. The Statewide Health Coordinating Council delayed a vote on a request by Keller and three other hospitals that want to do percutaneous coronary interventions without on-site open heart surgery availability. Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville, Decatur General Hospital and Stringfellow Memorial Hospital in Anniston joined Keller in the request for a change in the state health plan to allow the procedures. The hospitals contend that the health plan does not recognize modern advances that make inserting stents, balloons and other catheterizations to open arteries much safer than when the state wrote the guidelines"

The benefits of exercise in cardiovascular disease - and even in heart failure

"Exercise is one of eight preventive measures identified by the European Heart Health Charter and features prominently in the scientific programme of EuroPRevent 2009, the congress of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. EuroPRevent 2009 took place in Stockholm, Sweden, on 6-9 May. In new studies presented at the congress exercise is shown to improve markers of heart disease in patients following coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), to improve event-free survival rate in coronary patients better than stent angioplasty, and to improve markers of disease in heart failure patients, a group usually thought amenable to little more than palliative care" - Medical News Today

Abbott's bioabsorbable stent featured in Popular Science

"Every year, 800,000 Americans elect to have a tiny metal-mesh tube inserted into their coronary artery to prop it open and improve blood flow to cardiac muscle tissue. It's an easy choice - the alternative entails cracking open the chest and operating on a stopped heart. The tube, or stent, is permanent, but the vessel hardens over it within months. After that, it becomes a nuisance. The metal blocks x-rays and MRI scans, and it can catch blood cells and form a dangerous clot. Now medical-equipment manufacturer Abbott Laboratories has developed a stent that opens the artery and then simply disintegrates."

Why females do not fare as well as men in undergoing angioplasty for heart attacks

"Age, condition and treatment delay are among the reasons women who undergo angioplasty for heart attack often do not fare as well as do men, according to two studies presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 32nd Annual Scientific Sessions. These studies, which are among the first to document outcomes in female patients treated with angioplasty and stenting for a heart attack, may help close the outcome gap between women and men." - ScienceDaily