New St. Jude Defibrillator Lead Approved in U.S. and Europe
January 18th, 2008 amy
St. Jude Medical Inc announced Thursday that U.S. and European regulators approved its Durata high-voltage lead, a wire used to carry electrical currents in implanted defibrillator devices used to control rapid heartbeats. According to St. Jude, the Durata lead and the company’s equally thin Riata high-voltage leads are the smallest-diameter leads on the market. Apparently the five deaths linked to Medtronic’s ultra-thin Sprint Fidelis lead fractures weren’t enough to inspire the FDA to use extra caution in approving new leads with similarly thin diameters. St. Jude Riata leads have also been connected with poking holes in patients hearts.












