If you or a loved one has a heart device, consult your physician immediately to confirm that your device has not been recalled. Guidant lawyers and Medtronic lawyers are offering free consultations to patients who have been injured by heart devices or who may be suffering side-effects from a heart device. Several signs of defects include:

• Rapid heart rate
• Loss of consciousness, heart failure
• Electrical shocks from the defibrillator
• An audible beep

Guidant Recall Time Line

Guidant medical reports show 45 defibrillator malfunctions, resulting in at least two deaths since May 30, 2005. More than 38,000 patients throughout the United States rely on the Guidant debibrillators. The first signs of the Guidant malfunction began in 2002, when officials detected a potential problem with the wiring of the VENTAK PRIZM 2 DR (model 1861), and short circuiting. Guidant stated that this flaw would be corrected in future models, so they only began to notify doctors of this potential malfunction in May 2005. Two months later, the FDA issued a voluntary recall.

If you or a loved one has a heart device and has visited a physician due to this recall, contact a Guidant lawyer evaluate your potential claim. The recalled heart devices are prone to failure, resulting in a rapid heart rate. Other unexpected device behaviors are also possible. The problems may occur without warning. Both Medtronic and Guidant, manufacturers of heart devices, voluntarily recalled the following models:

Guidant Recall Models