Mar 9, 2004
Guidant Applauds Government-Supported Heart Failure Trial

Results Will Broaden Patient Population Who Clearly Benefit from an Implantable Defibrillator

Indianapolis, Ind. and St. Paul, Minn. - Guidant Corporation (NYSE: GDT), a world leader in the treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, applauds the findings of the National Institutes of Health-supported Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT), which were announced yesterday at the American College of Cardiology conference in New Orleans, La.

"We commend the SCD-HeFT investigators for yet another well-done large, randomized, controlled clinical trial that demonstrates the lifesaving benefits of implantable defibrillator therapy in a new and large patient group," said Joseph Smith, M.D., Ph.D., FACC, chief medical officer, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Guidant Corporation. "Moving forward, it is critically important to focus on awareness and access so that these patients can receive the benefits of this good science."

SCD-HeFT results show a 23 percent reduction in mortality for patients receiving an implantable defibrillator compared to those receiving a placebo. These results mean thousands more people could receive lifesaving defibrillator therapy. This study confirms and extends the findings of Guidant''s Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT) II clinical trial.

The SCD-HeFT trial was designed to determine whether implantable defibrillator therapy with conventional drug therapy improves overall survival when compared to conventional drug therapy alone in patients with clinical symptoms of heart failure. The trial was also designed to determine whether amiodarone with conventional drug therapy improves overall survival when compared to a placebo group. All patients suffered from either Class II or III heart failure, and were on optimal medical therapy.

Sudden cardiac death is the abrupt loss of heart function, usually due to a potentially fatal electrical rhythm malfunction in the heart called ventricular fibrillation. Each year, sudden cardiac death claims the lives of as many as 460,000 people in the United States alone. More people die from sudden cardiac death each year than from lung cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.

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 12,000 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.