Patient Care and General Interest

A 7-year-old girl who received a heart transplant as an infant is now competing in the Canadian Transplant Games [3], which are underway at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

The Lung Cancer Alliance held its National Advocacy Summit [4] in the US capitol, working to increase awareness of the disease and support for research. Thoracic surgeons in the US [5] also join the call for increased funding for lung cancer research.

A surgical team from Dubai, UAE, performs free heart surgery for children [6] in Mumbai, India, as part of the Nabadat initiative of the Mohamed bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment.

England’s National Health Service has approved routine funding for percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion [7] for patients with atrial fibrillation who cannot take blood thinning medication.

Drugs and Devices

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the next-generation MitraClip® from Abbott [8]. The device received the CE Mark earlier this year.

Research, Trials, and Funding

Working in pigs, researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of a micropacemaker, a leadless pacemaker that is percutaneously inserted into the pericardial space [9].