Affairs of the Heart—Defective Defibrillator: Do you have a Sprint Fidelis Lead?

Are you walking around with a Medtronic defibrillator, the Sprint Fidelis model name with lead wires? These cardiac electrodes connect the heart resynchronization defibrillator to your heart. You could be at risk for a heart attack, stroke, or the unthinkable -- death?

What is it about modern medicine that takes us back to the dark ages as billion-dollar medical equipment maker toys with life and death mechanisms that are supposed to help instead of hurt/kill or make you live in fear of the next big defect or failure?

As of October 4, 2007, there had been approximately 268,000 Medtronic defibrillator Sprint Fidelis leads implanted worldwide. So far there have been five patient deaths in which a Sprint Fidelis lead fracture may have been a possible or likely contributing factor. So far Medtronic has confirmed 665 chronic fractures in returned leads. Approximately 90 percent of these fractures have occurred in the anode or cathode conductors, while 10 percent have occurred in the high voltage conductors.

If you have Sprint Fidelis model numbers 6930, 6931, 6948 and 6949 leads, you probably already received a letter from your doctor or the hospital. Because the surgery to replace the Sprint Fidelis lead is highly dangerous, your doctor along with Medtronic advises that it is better to do nothing than to attempt the surgery.

Is this an isolated innocent?

Not hardly. As part of the Medtronic's program to analyze products returned from physicians, in 2005 Medtronic identified nine of 87,000 implanted devices with a battery design that exhibited this shorting mechanism. Based on highly accelerated company testing, Medtronic estimates that this rate may increase up to between 0.2 percent and 1.5 percent over the second half of device life.

Who can you trust? Medtronic? Not really.

If you or a family member has suffered serious medical consequences from a faulty Medtronic defibrillator, Sprint Fidelis model– then you have a viable reason to consult with and retain a Pennsylvania law firm well versed in product negligence, personal injury, and wrongful death. Please contact Monheit Law for your free, no-obligation consultation today.