NATICK, Mass., May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced CE Mark approval and market launch of its ALTRUA™ family of pacemakers. ALTRUA is Boston Scientific's most advanced pacemaker and delivers enhanced therapies while maintaining its small size and battery longevity. It is the first Boston Scientific-branded pacemaker to treat bradycardia, a condition in which the heart beats too slowly -- usually less than 60 beats per minute -- depriving the body of sufficient oxygen.

"European approval of Boston Scientific's ALTRUA family of pacemakers is the latest example of the significant progress we have made rebuilding our CRM organization and reinvigorating our product pipeline," said Fred Colen, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, CRM. "ALTRUA's innovative technology -- enabling physicians to adjust the therapy to meet the needs of their patients -- demonstrates our renewed focus on treating bradycardia."

The ALTRUA pacemaker provides physicians with a number of diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities that enable them to tailor the therapy to specific patient requirements:

  -- Multiple Atrial Ventricular (AV) Delay programming options: These
     options are designed to reduce unnecessary right ventricular (RV)
     pacing, without dropping ventricular beats, a key distinction from
     other competitive RV pacing algorithms.  The ALTRUA 50 and 60 series
     also include an enhanced AV search hysteresis feature, now with an
     extendable AV delay out to 400 milliseconds, providing physicians with
     additional flexibility to tailor device programming for unique patient
     needs.

  -- Minute Ventilation (MV) Blended Sensor: This proprietary technology
     treats a condition called Chronotropic Incompetence, which is the
     inability of the heart to regulate its rate appropriately in response
     to physical activity and emotional stress.  Boston Scientific's MV
     Blended sensor is the only sensor that has been shown to restore
     Chronotropic Competence.

  -- Ventricular Rate Regulation (VRR): This feature helps physicians manage
     patients with frequent atrial arrythmias.

  -- Automatic Capture: This capability is designed to offer automatic, safe
     and accurate ventricular pulse management.  The device checks every
     heart beat to see if the lower chambers of the heart contract in
     response to the delivered pulse.  If no contraction is detected, a
     backup pace with more energy is delivered.

The ALTRUA family of pacemakers is currently awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is not available for sale in the United States.

Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: http://www.bostonscientific.com/.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward- looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our product performance, regulatory approval of our products, new product launches, competitive offerings, our growth strategy, and our market position. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and, future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A- Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file thereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

  CONTACT: Paul Donovan
           508-650-8541 (office)
           508-667-5165 (mobile)
           Media Relations
           Boston Scientific Corporation

           Larry Neumann
           508-650-8696 (office)
           Investor Relations
           Boston Scientific Corporation

SOURCE: Boston Scientific Corporation

CONTACT: Media Relations, Paul Donovan, +1-508-650-8541 (office),
+1-508-667-5165 (mobile); Investor Relations, Larry Neumann, +1-508-650-8696
(office), both of Boston Scientific Corporation

Web site: http://www.bostonscientific.com/