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Michael Zey
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Now Can Use the Internet to Remotely Monitor Patients with Heart Failure

Physicians Now Can Use the Internet to Remotely Monitor Patients with Heart Failure


MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--12/22/2003--    Unique technology from Medtronic allows patients with revolutionary    CRT-ICD devices to travel, work or spend time at home instead of               frequently visiting the physician's office  

  Heart failure patients who are treated with a pioneering device-based treatment from Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) called cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) now can enjoy life more fully while their physicians review aspects of their condition and device activity from an Internet website. Using the unique Medtronic CareLink(R) Network remote monitoring service, heart failure patients can transmit critical data from the heart using a standard phone line from home, work or while on vacation, which greatly reduces the need for time-consuming travel to the physician's office for device monitoring.

  Medtronic, the leading provider of implantable cardiac devices and remote cardiac monitoring technologies, now is providing the convenience of remote monitoring to patients with a Medtronic InSync Marquis(TM) or InSync ICD(R) CRT device. Thanks to CRT, many of these patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure and a risk of dying from sudden cardiac arrest have much higher energy and activity levels. With the Medtronic CareLink Network, they now can also receive expert medical care with less dependency on frequent device monitoring appointments. More than 4,000 Medtronic ICD patients are already using the CareLink Network to stay connected with their health care providers from afar.

  "It is vital to closely monitor the condition of patients who have heart failure, and the recent introduction of CRT-ICD devices gives us access to a new level of information about a patient's activity level, heart rate and existence of irregular heart rhythms, which are common in people who have heart failure," said Evelyn Horn, M.D., director of clinical services for the Heart Failure Center at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.

  "Now, with the CareLink Network, physicians have a unique way to understand from a distance how a heart failure patient's device is working and if it's helping to manage their symptoms," she added. "This technology is a wonderful reassurance for our patients, including one gentleman who previously took 200-mile round trip bus rides to our hospital for device checks. Before he received an InSync Marquis device, he was too tired to work in his garden or walk more than a block from his home on the east coast of Long Island. Now, with the combination of the CRT system and the CareLink Network, we can review his heart information while he plants a new garden, works in a friend's fine arts gallery or walks a few miles along the beach in Florida during the winter months."

  To use the Medtronic CareLink Network, patients hold a computer-mouse like antenna over their chest to transmit data from the device to a doctor via a standard telephone line. Within minutes, the patient's clinic is able to view the data from any location on a secure Internet website. Based on this information, the physician can make adjustments to the patient's medication or prescribe additional therapy, if needed. Remote follow-up of these devices provides clinics with a status update on how the device is operating and allows them to view relevant patient data regarding heart failure and rhythm trends. In addition, clinician access to the system also can help facilitate a timely exchange of device information between various physicians involved in treating heart failure patients - electrophysiologists who implant and monitor CRT devices and cardiologists who follow the patient's heart failure condition.

  "With the CareLink Network, we have a way of accurately getting information from a patient's device at home - either at a regularly scheduled time or in the case of an unexpected event - and doing a comprehensive review of the data as if we were downloading the information from the patient's device in the clinic," said Hasan Garan, M.D., director of clinical cardiac electrophysiology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. "This advance will save the patient a trip to the clinic, and we also hope to make life more convenient and efficient for both the patient and the physician."

  "Remote monitoring of ICDs with the Medtronic CareLink Network is quickly becoming the preferred, customary approach to follow-up care for many physicians throughout the country. We now are revolutionizing care for an entire new group of people who need to be closely monitored - those with chronic heart failure," said Reggie Groves, vice president and general manager of Medtronic Patient Management. "The latest addition of InSync Marquis and the InSync ICD devices to the Network gives Medtronic a competitive edge in helping physicians better care for their patients."

  The InSync Marquis and InSync ICD systems combine cardiac resynchronization and defibrillation therapies in a single device. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that use of cardiac resynchronization therapy with an ICD in many heart failure patients improves quality of life, exercise capacity and functional class as measured by New York Heart Association class, and can reduce all-cause mortality and all-cause hospitalization for heart failure patients.

  Approximately 5 million Americans have heart failure, a progressive, debilitating disease, responsible for more than 250,000 deaths each year. It is the fastest-growing cardiovascular disorder in the United States, with approximately 500,000 new cases diagnosed each year, and an incidence that is expected to double within five years. Americans have a 1-in-5 lifetime risk of developing this condition. Heart failure also is the most costly cardiovascular illness in the country. An estimated $40 billion is spent on managing heart failure annually.

  Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading medical technology company, providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic disease. Its website is www.medtronic.com.  

  Any statements made about the company's anticipated financial results and regulatory approvals are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 25, 2003. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

CONTACT:Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis Public Relations: Valerie Lind, 763-505-2631 or Investor Relations: Rachael Scherer, 763-505-2694

SOURCE: Medtronic, Inc.

12/22/2003 09:01 EASTERN