Guidant Issues Warning on Pacemakers

Guidant Corp., one of the largest makers of heart devices, said it’s recalling some of its pacemakers and issuing new monitoring guidelines amid reports that their batteries may stop working prematurely. The company said it’s asking doctors to monitor more closely patients who have an implanted device from some early lots of Discovery, Meridian and Pulsar pacemakers, and to return unused devices. A pacemaker with a nonworking battery can’t itself harm patients, and the devices in question represent a small number of the total shipped, analysts said. There haven’t been any deaths or serious injuries related to the issue, and the Food and Drug Administration has been informed of the warning, the company said. Indianapolis-based Guidant said the problem rate among the lots being recalled was less than 1%, and that patients with working devices don’t need to have them removed unless the battery stops working. The company said that some doctors could choose to remove the pacemakers early as a preventive measure, however. Trading in Guidant shares was halted temporarily pending the news. The stock fell $1.50 to close at $60.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.