Health - Heart latest news

Hansen medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN), a developer of robotic technology for accurate 3D control of catheter movement during cardiac procedures, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance to market the CoHesionT 3D Visualization Module for use in complex electrophysiology (EP) mapping procedures.

Abbott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the XIENCE(TM) V Everolimus Eluting Coronary stent system for the treatment of coronary artery disease. XIENCE V is the only drug eluting stent to have demonstrated superiority over Boston Scientific's TAXUS(R) paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system in two randomized head-to-head clinical trials. XIENCE V will be launched in the United States immediately.

Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells. Scientists at Washington University School of medicine in St. Louis report in Cell Stem Cell that the Mesp1 gene locks mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming heart parts and gets them moving to the area where the heart forms.

Acusphere, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACUS) announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for approval to market its lead product candidate, ImagifyT (Perflubutane Polymer Microspheres for Injectable Suspension), has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Imagify is an ultrasound imaging agent for the detection of coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

Quickly ascending to a high altitude can challenge the healthiest people, but it can spell extra trouble for individuals with a heart problem, according to the July 2008 Harvard Heart Letter. How your heart will respond to the challenges of high altitude depends on how high you are going, what you plan to do there, the state of your heart, and your overall fitness.

Measuring calcium deposits in the heart's arteries can help predict overall death risk in American adults, even when they are elderly, according to a new study published in the July issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Matthew J. Budoff, M.D.

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