Jan 30, 2003
Guidant Reports All-Time Record Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2002 Sales and Adjusted Earnings

Presentation Accessible Via Webcast

Indianapolis, Ind. - Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT), a world leader in the treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, today announced that it will participate in the Merrill Lynch Global Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology & Medical Device Conference on Wednesday, February 5, in New York.

Guido J. Neels, group chairman, Office of the President, Guidant Corporation, will present on the company''s business at 11:20 a.m. EST.

The live webcast of Guidant''s presentation will be accessible through Guidant''s website at http://www.guidant.com/webcast/ or through Merrill Lynch at http://www.on24.com/clients/merrill/conference_030204/submit.html?presenter=guidantcorp. The webcast will be archived on both websites for future on-demand replay.

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. For more information visit www.guidant.com.

NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information about Guidant, including its products and services, please visit the company''s newsroom at www.guidant.com/newsroom.

System requirements for the webcast include Internet Explorer 5.0 (or higher) or Netscape Navigator 4.0 (or higher). Users also should have the most recent version of Windows Media Player, which can be downloaded for free at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/download/. Users may experience varying levels of performance based on their connection speed, system capabilities and presence of a corporate firewall. To ensure a connection, users should go to the program five to 15 minutes before its start.