PAD Device Kickback Scheme; Gut Microbiome vs Stroke; Extravascular ICD Gets CE Mark

Irregular sleeping habits were associated with measures of subclinical atherosclerosis, including coronary artery calcium burden and abnormal ankle‐brachial index, in middle age. (Journal of the American Heart Association)

Meanwhile, better cardiovascular health was linked to a better mental health trajectory in subsequent years. (JAMA Psychiatry)

Medtronic representatives allegedly “groomed” vascular surgeons to place an inordinate number of devices for peripheral artery disease (PAD) in an illegal kickback scheme at the Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, according to a whistleblower lawsuit. (ProPublica)

A decade after angioplasty for in-stent restenosis of a drug-eluting stent, excess deaths occurred among patients who had received a paclitaxel-eluting stent in the ISAR-DESIRE 3 trial. (European Heart Journal)

Older people undergoing long-term continuous monitoring for atrial fibrillation (Afib) were frequently diagnosed with bradyarrhythmias and received pacemaker implants that did not reduce syncope or sudden death, according to a post-hoc analysis of the LOOP trial. (JAMA Cardiology)

For people with recurrent Afib despite durable pulmonary vein isolation, no ablation modality stood out as especially helpful for reducing atrial arrhythmias further. (Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology)

The Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed last year and capped Medicare out-of-pocket drug costs, is expected to bring savings to the more than 1 million older adults with cardiovascular conditions spending over $2,000 per year on these expenses. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)

Specific gut bacteria conferred protection against ischemic strokes in a Mendelian randomization analysis. (European Journal of Preventive Cardiology)

An intensive dietary counseling intervention failed to produce durable reductions in sodium intake among moderate salt eaters. (eClinicalMedicine)

Researchers developed a genomic risk score that predicts lifetime risk of intracerebral hemorrhage modestly better than clinical factors alone. (Stroke)

CBS News highlights the importance of Black cardiologists for Black patients.

For pregnant women with normal soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 to placental growth factor ratios at risk for preterm preeclampsia, stopping aspirin use at 24-28 weeks’ gestation was noninferior to continued use for prevention, a Spanish randomized trial showed. (JAMA)

The association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and subsequent coronary artery disease and stroke was only partially mediated by cardiometabolic factors. (JAMA Network Open)

Development of a lipid nanoparticle allowed for successful delivery of mRNA to placental cells to treat preeclampsia, the University of Pennsylvania announced.

Medtronic says that European regulators handed its Aurora extravascular implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) the CE Mark.

Soccer goalkeeper Arne Espeel collapsed after saving a penalty kick during a game in Belgium. Emergency services tried to revive him with a defibrillator, but he later died at the hospital. (Reuters)