CRF will hold its annual "Pulse of the City" Gala on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at the Mandarin Oriental New York. The Gala will honor four internationally renowned innovators in interventional cardiovascular medicine: Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, Julio C. Palmaz, MD, John B. Simpson, PhD, MD, and Paul Yock, MD.

The evening will pay tribute to the achievements of these visionary individuals whose innovative spirit and creative talent have transformed interventional cardiovascular medicine. Their work has touched the lives of countless individuals suffering from heart disease, improving patient care around the world. Guests may join the honorees for an evening of cocktails, dinner, and dancing.

"Emerging Directions for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon" to be co-sponsored by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS)

TCT for Surgeons will showcase the expansion of hybrid surgical and interventional techniques in the field that are improving outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Now in its fourth year, the course will run during TCT 2010 from September 21-25, 2010, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2010, to be held September 21-25 in Washington, DC, will provide major clinical research updates for interventional cardiologists that will directly affect patient care. Leading medical researchers and clinicians from around the world will present the latest advances in techniques and training on the next generation of stents, valve repair and replacement, and the interactions and effectiveness of new medicines.

Results from the SPIRIT IV clinical trial, which were first presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2009 scientific symposium, were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Data from the trial, a large-scale multi-center study of nearly 4,000 patients in the U.S., showed that everolimus-eluting stents demonstrated enhanced safety and efficacy in the treatment of de novo native coronary artery lesions when compared to paclitaxel-eluting stents. The trial, which was powered for superiority for clinical endpoints without angiographic follow up, also examined the differences in performance of the two stents in patients with diabetes.