May 15, 2003
Guidant Sponsored Clinical Trials in Spotlight at North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology Annual Meeting

Landmark Trials Featured

Indianapolis, Ind. and St. Paul, Minn. - Two Guidant Corporation (NYSE: GDT) sponsored clinical trials will be prominently featured during the 24th annual meeting of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE), the country's largest meeting of physicians specializing in heart rhythm disorders, in Washington, D.C., May 15-17, 2003. Additional study data from the landmark Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT) II clinical trial will be presented that confirms and provides greater understanding of the mortality benefits already reported for this trial. Meeting attendees will also have the opportunity to view preliminary results from the recently completed landmark Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing and Defibrillation in Chronic Heart Failure (COMPANION) trial.
MADIT II Trial

MADIT II, sponsored solely by Guidant and independently conducted by Arthur J. Moss, M.D., University of Rochester, along with colleagues in 76 centers in the United Stated and Europe, will be featured in several oral and poster sessions throughout the three-day meeting. MADIT II studied the benefits of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in patients with a prior heart attack and impaired heart function. The trial showed a 31 percent mortality benefit for those patients implanted with a defibrillator as compared to those receiving optimal pharmacologic treatment alone.

MADIT II related session highlights include two presentations by David J. Wilber, M.D., Loyola University Medical Center. In the first presentation on Friday, May 16, Dr. Wilber will present results of his study of the correlation between length of survival after a heart attack and risk of sudden cardiac death, showing that risk of sudden cardiac death and ICD benefit both increase over time for heart attack survivors. A second session led by Dr. Wilber on Saturday, May 17, will show that revascularization (bypass surgery or angioplasty procedure) does not appear to provide any anti-arrhythmic benefit or protection from sudden cardiac death.

Also of interest is a study led by Douglas Packer, M.D., Mayo Clinic, which concludes that the lifesaving benefits of ICD therapy in patients defined by the MADIT II trial could be independently confirmed with data taken from the previously completed Multicenter UnSustained Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT).
Sudden Cardiac Death

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) can result from a chaotic heart rhythm that prevents the heart from pumping normally. This rhythm is called ventricular fibrillation. Each year more people in the United States die from SCD than from lung cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined. In the United States, more than 63 percent of all cardiac deaths are due to SCD, amounting to more than 460,000 people each year. There are approximately seven million heart attack survivors in the United States alone, many who meet the MADIT II criteria. Implantable defibrillators have the potential to save the lives of many of these people.
COMPANION Trial

The recently completed COMPANION trial, also sponsored by Guidant, will be showcased at a late-breaking scientific session on Saturday, May 17. Previously reported preliminary results from the landmark trial indicated a reduction in the combination of all-cause mortality and all-cause hospitalization for people receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy as compared to optimal pharmaceutical therapy alone. Arthur M. Feldman M.D., Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson Medical College, will present preliminary trial results at the special session. Dr. Feldman is one of the trial''s primary investigators, along with Michael R. Bristow, M.D., Ph.D., University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Preliminary COMPANION trial results showed a 19 percent reduction in combined all-cause mortality and all-cause hospitalization for heart failure patients implanted with either Guidant''s cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators, compared to optimal pharmacologic therapy alone. Additionally, there was a 43 percent reduction in all-cause mortality for heart failure patients who received Guidant''s cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator.
Heart Failure

Heart failure is a disease in which the heart weakens and gradually loses the ability to pump blood effectively. More than six million Europeans and nearly five million Americans currently suffer from heart failure. Nearly one million new cases of heart failure are diagnosed annually worldwide, making it the most rapidly growing cardiovascular disorder.

Guidant has a strong heritage of sponsoring landmark clinical trials designed to answer critical clinical questions about long-term treatment outcomes for cardiovascular disease. In addition to COMPANION, MADIT II and MUSTT, other Guidant solely or jointly sponsored trials include MADIT, CONTAK CD® and AVID.

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 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.