Edwards Lifesciences Corp., of Irvine, Calif., reported positive quarterly results Jan. 30, and it was particularly bolstered by strength with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). CEO Mike Mussallem called out the fourth quarter underlying sales growth of 19%, giving much credit to TAVR.

Abbott Laboratories has received CE mark approval for its Tendyne transcatheter mitral valve implantation (TMVI) system, the first such device approved for use in Europe and the world. The system is intended for patients with leaky mitral valves that are beyond repair and those at high risk for open heart surgery.

Diabetes is the first med-tech sphere that is coalescing for Verily Life Sciences LLC, but cardiology could be next. The South San Francisco-based business that’s part of Google parent Alphabet Inc. has received a second FDA clearance for its Verily Study Watch as an irregular pulse monitor. After a 2017 debut, it was first cleared by the agency about a year ago for use to take an on-demand electrocardiogram (ECG).

The controversy over the use of paclitaxel-bearing devices in the femoropopliteal arteries is far from over. Now, a new medical journal article makes a similar claim about mortality in connection with the use of these devices in the infrapopliteal arteries, threatening once again to take a bite out of utilization.

Ra Medical Systems Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., reported that the U.S. FDA has granted investigational device exemption (IDE) approval to study its DABRA excimer laser system as an atherectomy device to treat peripheral vascular stenosis.

Dublin-based Medtronic plc has snagged the U.S. FDA’s approval for its Micra AV, the world’s smallest pacemaker with atrioventricular (AV) synchrony. The company said it will begin rolling out the device at a limited number of medical centers in the upcoming weeks, with a full, nationwide launch sometime this spring. About the size of a large vitamin pill, the leadless Micra AV is indicated for the treatment of patients with AV block, a disorder that occurs when the electrical signal traveling from the atria, or upper chambers of the heart, to the ventricles, or lower chambers, is impaired.

A new study of 30 patients has demonstrated that embolization coils adequately seal the left atrial appendage after implant of LAA closure devices, but the author of an accompanying editorial expressed concerns regarding the absence of understanding of both the causes and implications of these leaks.

Device makers only can watch when cardiologists grapple with federal agency officials over device utilization. However, cardiologists are punching back hard against a rule used to judge whether a coronary artery stent is appropriately used, thus ensuring these devices won’t suffer a significant drop in utilization.

Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories has gained the U.S. FDA’s nod for a clinical trial that will compare the effectiveness of Mitraclip to open-heart mitral valve surgical repair in people with primary mitral regurgitation (MR) who are eligible for open-heart surgery. The prospective, randomized REPAIR MR clinical trial is expected to enroll 500 patients.