Guidant Gets FDA OK on Defibrillator Use
From Reuters
Guidant Corp. said it received U.S. regulatory clearance to expand use of its defibrillators for heart-failure patients who are at risk of sudden cardiac death due to a previous heart attack and reduced pumping ability.
The Indianapolis company said the decision by the Food and Drug Administration extended the use of the defibrillators to heart-failure patients who have not yet experienced a life-threatening arrhythmia but whose hearts have trouble pumping.
Resynchronization defibrillators shock the heart back into normal rhythm, getting the lower chambers of the heart to work in tandem.
Guidant’s third-quarter sales of all types of defibrillators totaled $385 million, up 48%.
