CorMatrix Cardiovascular, Inc. announced that FDA has granted conditional approval for the start of a multi-center, randomized clinical trial to demonstrate the safety of the CorMatrix ECM for Pericardial Closure to reduce the incidence of new onset postoperative atrial fibrillation. Patients enrolled in the trial will undergo circumferential reconstruction of the normal pericardial anatomy following isolated, first-time, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures and will be compared to subjects who do not undergo pericardial closure.

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FDA Recommends Dropping Low Blood Pressure Drug – Midodrine Hydrochloride (ProAmatine) the FDA has recommended withdrawing the approval of ProAmatine (midodrine hydrochloride), a Shire Development Inc. medication for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension  – a temporary drop in blood pressure (hypotension), usually due to suddenly standing up; when standing up the patient becomes dizzy or faints. The FDA says that post-approval studies that verify the clinical benefit of the medication have not been done.

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The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced it has approved the 1st generic version of enoxaparin sodium injection (Lovenox), an anti-coagulant (blood thinner) used for the prevention of DVT (deep vein thrombosis), as well as some other therapies. Lovenox is made from heparin and was approved for use in the USA in 1993. It is a blood-thinning medication whose active ingredient is a naturally-derived complex mixture of sugar molecules.

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Medtronic Inc.’s Physio-Control subsidiary said that it has launched a field correction effort to fix certain devices used to shock patients in cardiac arrest because it found a potential battery-power problem, and that one patient may have died as a result. The FDA said nearly 43,000 Lifepak 20 and Lifepak 20e defibrillator/monitors are at issue worldwide.

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The Food & Drug Administration has slapped Medtronic Inc’s subsidiary Physio-Control Inc. with a Class I recall of its LifePak 20/20e defibrillators after the company declared a “field correction” for a battery problem last week. Physio-Control issued a “field correction” on July 2, after discovering that some of the devices might lose battery power while in operation.

Endologix Inc said that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the expansion of its main product line. The FDA approval covers 31 new sizes of its Powerlink stents, which it said should expand the number of patients they can be used on by to 5% to 10%. Endologix’s stents are used to reinforce a ruptured or ballooning section of an artery.

Biosense Webster, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing the CartoXPress™ Software Module and the Lasso® NAV Circular Mapping Catheter for use with the Carto® XP Mapping System. These two new innovations provide electrophysiologists who do not have access to the Carto® 3 System, the company’s latest revolutionary 3D Mapping technology, with increased speed and efficiency in treating cardiac arrhythmias, commonly referred to as irregular heart rhythms.

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The maker of a battery pack used in automated external defibrillators (AEDs) voluntarily recalled more than 5,000 of its units due to potentially fatal errors it causes in devices charged with the battery. The FDA has labeled the recall class I, reflecting the most severe warning and meaning that the affected device has a high probability of causing serious adverse events or death with use.

The FDA is looking into whether Daiichi Sankyo’s blood pressure medicine Benicar increases the risk of heart-related death. The regulatory body said it is evaluating data from a pair of clinical trials in which diabetes patients taking the drug, known chemically as olmesartan, had a higher rate of death from heart related causes compared with patients taking a placebo. In addition to reviewing data from the two studies, the FDA said it is considering additional ways to assess the cardiovascular effects of Benicar.

Endologix Inc, a medical device maker, said it has received approval from the US regulatory authority to market an expanded offering of its Powerlink stent graft products. Powerlink, which is an already approved endovascular stent graft, is used in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. In abdominal aortic aneurysm, the aortic wall weakens, creating a “ballooning” of the blood vessel.