Guidant issues warning on faulty defibrillator

A developing story looks as though it has the potential to make life unpleasant for medical device manufacturer Guidant. There is word that a defibrillator the company makes has short circuited in some cases, leading to the death of at least one patient, a 21-year-old from Minnesota. The New York Times reports that the company put out an advisory to doctors yesterday warning on the Ventak Prizm Model 1861. The newspaper reports that the company knew about the problem at least three years ago.

Competitor Medtronic faced a similar problem earlier this year. Medtronic says nearly 10,000 patients have had pacemakers replaced since that time. Guidant is not recommending replacement at the moment, however. Shares in Guidant were down slightly to $73 per share on the news.

- see this story from The New York Times

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