Physicians should no longer routinely prescribe a daily regimen of low-dose aspirin for most patients at high risk of their first heart attack or stroke, according to draft guidelines the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force shared Oct. 12.

Below are five cardiologists who recently joined new practices, stepped into new roles or retired.

Four hospitals and health systems have recently opened specialty heart clinics or announced plans to do so. 

A new $17 million, 14,400-square-foot heart rhythm center is coming to Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla. The new facility will be part of the medical center's freestanding heart hospital. 

Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System is launching a cardiovascular program at Morristown Medical Center to treat severely clogged coronary arteries and other serious heart conditions, according to an Oct. 7 news release obtained by Becker's.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Chicago-based Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine $18.1 million to lead the largest-ever funded study on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction — a condition that affects 2.5 million people in the U.S.

By 2035, 45 percent of the U.S. population will have at least one form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), driving the projected total cost of care to more than $1 trillion, according to research cited by presenters during a featured session sponsored by ECG Management Consultants.

Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center in July became the first in the state to treat a heart attack patient with a new device that makes enlarged, weak hearts smaller. 

The heart transplant team at Dell Children's Medical Center and UT Health Austin in Texas has performed six heart transplants since the program launched in October 2020 — triple the amount it had originally projected, the Austin American Statesman reported Oct. 3. 

Hazim Safi, MD, will serve as medical director of aortic surgery at HCA Houston Medical Center, part of HCA Houston Healthcare, the health system said Oct. 1. 

A story about a spike in the death rates for heart disease and diabetes in 2020 was Becker's most-read cardiology story in September. 

Physicians at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital's heart institute have successfully completed the country's first mitral valve replacement using a new minimally invasive system, the health system said Sept. 30. 

Warren, Ohio-based Trumbull Regional Medical Center has opened a congestive heart failure clinic to improve patients' quality of life through education and treatment. 

Below are six cardiologists who recently joined new practices, stepped into new roles or retired.

While rehospitalization rates among heart failure patients are high, the potential solutions to lower these rates aren't that complex, says Michael Miller, MD. 

Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center, part of Hackensack Meridian Health, has opened a heart and brain center for stroke patients with patent foramen ovale, a small hole in the heart. 

Howard Eisen, MD, medical director of the advanced heart failure, cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support programs at Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center, outlined several key questions about heart failure treatment that leaders are currently grappling with during a recent episode of the Becker's Healthcare cardiology podcast.

The American College of Cardiology has awarded Billings (Mont.) Clinic transcatheter valve certification, making it the only center in a region spanning  several states to be certified for minimally invasive transcatheter valve interventions, local CBS affiliate KTVQ reported Sept. 22. 

Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids (Iowa) is breaking ground on a new heart center Sept. 23, according to CBS and Fox affiliate KGAN.

Even amid the pandemic, innovation in cardiology is rampant, with U.S. hospitals and health systems continuing to perform novel heart procedures.