A heart device that seals the leak: 96 in 100 closures, a year on

For people with atrial fibrillation — an irregular heartbeat that lets blood pool and clot — a small implant that seals off the heart's left atrial appendage can cut the risk of stroke without a lifetime of blood thinners. One-year results from the VERITAS study of Abbott's next-generation Amulet 360 device, presented at the TCT conference in San Diego and published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, show complete closure of the appendage in 96.3% of patients checked with heart ultrasound, alongside a low rate of stroke. The study followed more than 450 patients at over 30 hospitals in the USA, Canada and Europe. The device already carries Europe's CE Mark and remains investigational in the USA.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation