Nov 19, 2003
Guidant Broadens Advanced Patient Management Initiative with CardioMEMS Investment

New Investments and Sponsorships Bolster Guidant''s Commitment to Advanced Patient Management

Indianapolis, IN and St. Paul, MN - Guidant Corporation (NYSE: GDT), a world leader in the treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, today announced that it has made an equity investment in CardioMEMS, Inc. CardioMEMS develops innovative devices based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology to enable physicians to remotely monitor the progression of chronic diseases such as heart failure. The investment in CardioMEMS broadens Guidant''s Advanced Patient Management(tm) initiative.

CardioMEMS is developing an implantable, wireless, MEMS-based pressure sensor to monitor cardiac pressure, which is a key marker of worsening heart failure. By offering remote, real-time monitoring of this key marker, CardioMEMS may enable physicians to intervene earlier in the disease progression, improving patient outcomes and eliminating costly hospitalizations.

"CardioMEMS is developing a very attractive platform for future-generation medical devices," said Fred McCoy, president, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Guidant Corporation. "Investment in companies such as CardioMEMS support Guidant''s strategic vision of providing physicians the means to remotely manage their patients'' care. This strategy is based on the guiding principles of improving medical therapy, patient outcomes and healthcare economics."

"CardioMEMS is thrilled to have Guidant as an investment partner in our company," said Jay Yadav, M.D., co-founder and chairman of CardioMEMS. "We believe that there will be significant synergies between the companies given Guidant''s leadership position in patient management and CardioMEMS'' innovative product concepts and advanced MEMS technology."

About Advanced Patient Management

Advanced Patient Management (APM) applications are designed to enable physicians to monitor patient heart function remotely and automatically. Currently in the developmental stage, Guidant intends to equip its pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization devices with the latest telecommunications and information technologies. APM is being developed to provide real-time awareness so physicians can diagnose and treat people with abnormal heart rhythms and people who struggle with heart failure. APM could decrease the need for routine follow-up physician visits, potentially reducing costs and improving clinician productivity while enhancing patient convenience. In essence, this new approach holds the potential to revolutionize clinical paradigms in the way physicians monitor status, predict clinical direction, and manage the medical needs of their patients.

Investments in Advanced Patient Management

The CardioMEMS investment joins a growing list of acquisitions, investments, partnerships and sponsorships that will enable Guidant to provide physicians the ability to remotely monitor their patients care as well as get instantaneous access to their patients'' electronic medical records. In addition to CardioMEMS, the investments and acquisitions include:

• CardioNet'" CardioNet develops products that help physicians manage patients with cardiovascular disease by merging cardiac monitoring technology with wireless telecommunications to enable remote, real-time monitoring via the Internet.
• Cardiac Intelligence Corporation - Acquisition gives Guidant intellectual property ownership to an extensive portfolio of patents in the field of ambulatory patient monitoring.

Sponsorships and Partnerships in Advanced Patient Management

In addition to pursuing investments in companies that have APM capabilities, Guidant is also forming partnerships that will create standards for data communication. Guidant''s partnerships and sponsorship include:

• GE Medical Systems Information Technologies (GEMS-IT) --- Under the unique agreement, the companies will embark on several initiatives to seamlessly integrate data from implantable cardiovascular devices into patients'' electronic medical records so that clinicians can quickly determine their patients'' condition and make more accurate diagnoses.
• Health Level Seven, Inc. (HL7)--- Guidant sponsors the work of this organization, which brings together companies to develop standards for the exchange, integration, sharing and retrieval of electronic health information that supports clinical practice and the management, delivery and evaluation of health services.
• ResMed---Guidant and ResMed are working together to develop products that diagnose and treat sleep-disordered breathing and cardiac rhythm disorders, disease states with a significant patient population overlap.

These partnerships demonstrate Guidant's commitment to ensuring that our implantable cardiac rhythm management device data is seamlessly shared with electronic health records. Today, in our industry, this data is confined in closed and proprietary systems. Guidant has chosen to develop APM with an open architecture. The goal of these partnerships is to establish a leadership position in moving toward the vision of an electronic, interconnected national health information infrastructure that will give consumers and clinicians ready access to healthcare information and services. These partnerships can potentially improve medical therapy, patient outcomes and healthcare economics.

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 11,000 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. For more information visit www.guidant.com.

This release includes forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Patient Management. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including regulatory timelines and approvals, continuing clinical and other developments, and other factors identified on Exhibit 99 to the company''s most recent 10-Q. Actual results may differ materially. The company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.