News for April, 2009

FDA meeting could compromise Medical Device Safety Act

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has planned an internal meeting today to discuss the strategic direction of the agency’s medical device center, adding fuel to concerns that the government agency carelessly approved medical devices and as a result put patients’ health and safety at risk, according to the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

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FDA issues Class I recall on ZOLL heart defibrillator

Another heart defibrillator has fallen under a Class I by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The on ZOLL AED Plus Defibrillators was initiated because the device may fail to deliver a defibrillation shock, which could result in failure to resuscitate a patient during treatment of sudden cardiac arrest.

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FDA to crack down on medical device manufacturers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on makers of medical devices that fall in the most risky category of products approved by the FDA, ordering the companies to provide tougher evidence of their products’ safety and effectiveness or pay for extensive clinical trials for their products currently on the market, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Patients, doctors face tough choice about removing faulty heart devices

Doctors and their patients with recalled Medtronic defibrillators implanted in their chests may soon be faced with making difficult decisions about whether to undergo life-threatening surgery to remove the faulty heart devices to prevent possibly fatal events, according to the New York Times.

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Victim of defective defibrillator lobbies for Medical Device Safety Act

medtronic pacemaker 150x150Ron Albrecht lives in fear – fear that one day he will learn that the defibrillator implanted in his chest is defective and will cause him excruciating pain when it fails, like his previous one did two years ago. That device turned out to be among the defective heart defibrillators that were recalled by the device’s manufacturer, Medtronic. Albrecht’s device had to be replaced, and while his new one appears to be operating fine, he still worries.

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Patients converge on Capital Hill for right to sue Medtronic

medtronic logo 150x91People with Medtronic cardiac defibrillators implanted in their chests converged on Washington, D.C., this week to lobby for the passage of the Medical Device Safety Act. The act will allow consumers who have been hurt by defective medical devices to sue the device’s maker even if the devices have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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Higher number of fatalities connected with Medtronic heart device

Medtronic Inc. has issued a letter to doctors stating that a defective lead wire in its popular heart defibrillator, which was recalled in October 2007, may have contributed to the deaths of 13 individuals in which the heart devices were implanted, according to the Star Tribune. That death toll is up from the medical device company’s original estimate two years ago of five deaths.

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