GUIDANT SERVED WITH SUBPOENAS
November 4, 2005 07:51

Guidant Corp. said it was served with subpoenas from U.S. Attorney's offices in Boston and Minneapolis seeking documents concerning pacemakers, defibrillators and related products. The subpoena from the Boston office is apparently part of an industrywide investigation. Two other medical device companies, St. Jude Medical and Medtronic Inc., said they also received subpoenas from that office. Indianapolis-based Guidant said the subpoena from the Minneapolis office relates to its Ventak Prizm and Contak Renewal defibrillators, which were among products hit by recall notices in the past several months. Jeff Swiatek, The Indianapolis Star, 10/26/2005

Important Safety information on certain St. Jude Medical implantable cardiac defibrillators

• St. Jude Medical Canada, Inc
  
• Health Professional Communication
  

St. Jude Medical informs physicians and patients that background levels of atmospheric ionizing cosmic radiation can affect a limited number of its older generation implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). The company makes several recommendations to minimize the associated risks.

edtronic Inc. said on Tuesday it is advising physicians of a potential problem in a small number of its Sigma pacemakers in which wires may separate from a circuit. The Minneapolis-based medical device maker said the overall incidence rate is "extremely low" and there have been no reports of patient injuries or deaths related to the issue. Yahoo reports Reuters News.