19 juin, 2005 02:26
NATIONAL DESK | June 20, 2005, Monday
Faulty Heart Devices Force Some Scary Decisions
By BARRY MEIER; ANDREW ROSS SORKIN CONTRIBUTED REPORTING FOR THIS ARTICLE. (NYT) 1331 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 1 , Column 2
ABSTRACT - Thousands of patients and their doctors must weigh competing risks of replacing faulty heart defibrillators following Guidant Corp's recall; company says 29,000 defibrillators can potentially short-circuit when they are needed; for some patients, surgery to remove defibrillator would pose even bigger risk; doctors say each assessment on surgery will be personal one, based on patient's age and health, how dependent patient is on device and patient's attitudes toward risk; some patients feel sense of betrayal that Guidant did not disclose problem three years ago when it found electrical flaw in one model, and that it even kept selling that version after developing version not prone to short-circuiting; issue could impact Johnson & Johnson's proposed $25.4-billion acquisition of Guidant if matter could materially hurt Guidant's business (M)
