May 3, 1999
Guidant Announces New Member of its Board of Directors

Indianapolis, IN - Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT) today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Michael Grobstein as a director of Guidant effective immediately. The appointment of Mr. Grobstein increases the membership of the Board to twelve.

Mr. Grobstein retired as Vice Chairman of Ernst & Young in 1998. During his 34-year tenure with the global audit and consulting firm, he held leadership positions in audit and accounting, strategic planning, risk management, and international operations. He was admitted to partnership of Ernst & Young in 1975.

An accomplished author and lecturer, Mr. Grobstein co-wrote the university textbook Auditing - A Risk Analysis Approach, in 1985. In 1997, he was a contributing co-author to The CFO Handbook, Revised Edition, Irwin Professional Publishing, on the subject of "controlling global operations."

Mr. Grobstein received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Central Park Conservancy and serves on the Board of Directors of the Coro Foundation.

A global leader in the medical device industry, Guidant provides innovative, minimally invasive and cost-effective products and services for the treatment of cardiovascular and vascular disease. For more information about Guidant''s products and services, visit the company''s Web site at http://www.guidant.com.