Brian Firth (Cordis Corporation): As you all probably know, Cordis, in its entirety, is a cardiovascular device company, and now a combination drug/device company. There are four major divisions: 1) Cordis Cardiology, 2) Cordis Endovascular, 3) Biosense-Webster, which focuses on rhythm detection and management, and 4) Cordis Neurovascular, which focuses on intracranial issues. Cordis has just added a stroke group which operates across Johnson & Johnson and coordinates all of the company’s stroke activities. Sam Liang, who was vice president of marketing at Cordis Cardiology for many

Pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae, or malformations (PAVMs), are congenital or (rarely) acquired abnormal vascular connections between a pulmonary artery and a pulmonary vein. The fistula itself is typically a thin-walled aneurysmal vascular structure that tends to increase over time. Patients with this condition may be asymptomatic, with the diagnosis being suggested by the presence of a persistently abnormal image in the lung fields on repeat chest radiograms. Others present with symptoms such as cyanosis, dyspnea, high output heart failure, hemoptysis and paradoxical embolization.^1–3<

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of acute myocardial infarction and sudden death. It typically occurs in healthy women during the peripartum period or in the presence of connective tissue disorders.^1–4 Although the lesion is often fatal and the diagnosis established postmortem, in recent years there have been reports of successful medical, percutaneous and surgical interventions.⁵ We describe a case of an extensive spontaneous left coronary artery dissection that led to cardiogenic shock and that was successfully treated with multiple stent