May 6, 2002
Guidant Launches Next Generation of Market-Leading Guide Wire

Indianapolis, Ind. - Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT), a world leader in the treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, today announced that the company has launched the HI-TORQUE BALANCE MIDDLEWEIGHT UNIVERSAL(tm) Guide Wire, the next generation of the company's market-leading guide wire. The guide wire will be available immediately to physicians in the United States, the European Union, Canada and other countries.

"The enhancements to one of our top guide wires strengthens Guidant's leadership in stent delivery systems, and complements the company's recent advances in coronary vascular intervention," said John Capek, president, Vascular Intervention, Guidant Corporation. "We strive to continually improve upon guide wire technology to enhance the overall outcomes of interventional cases."

Over one-half of patients undergoing a coronary interventional procedure worldwide today are treated with Guidant guide wires. Guide wires are devices that allow physicians to steer the balloon catheter and stent to the lesion in the affected artery. An incision is made, usually in the patient's leg, and the guide wire is advanced through the vessel to the lesion. After the balloon has been inflated and the stent has been expanded, pushing plaque to the sides of the artery walls to restore blood flow, the guide wire is removed.

"The new HI-TORQUE BALANCE MIDDLEWEIGHT UNIVERSAL Guide Wire improves upon an already excellent product, allowing easy and smooth stent delivery," said Dr. Martin B. Leon of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Guidant's HI-TORQUE BALANCE MIDDLEWEIGHT UNIVERSAL Guide Wire combines optimal torque control and steerability with superb durability and flexibility. The guide wire's soft, gentle tip provides good lesion access, and its inner core is made of ELASTINITE® alloy for durability and resiliency. The HI-TORQUE BALANCE MIDDLEWEIGHT UNIVERSAL Guide Wire retains the popular features of its predecessor, with enhancements in device compatibility, distal access, deliverability in tortuous anatomy, and tip shape durability.

Guidant Corporation pioneers lifesaving technology, giving an opportunity for better life today to millions of cardiac and vascular patients worldwide. The company, driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture of more than 10,000 employees, develops, manufactures and markets a broad array of products and services that enable less invasive care for some of life's most threatening medical conditions.