Not the first Medtronic recall

Medtronic’s recent recall of their Fidelis lead isn’t the first recall in the defibrillator (a tiny device implanted in the chest that shocks the heart into beating rhythmically) market. According to press releases from the company, the lead may fracture causing the patient to receive unnecessary electrical jolts from the device when they aren’t needed, or perhaps even worse, no jolt at all when it is needed.

While this recall focuses on the 235,000 leads (wires that connect the defibrillator device to the heart itself), Medtronic recalled defibrillator and pacemaker devices only a few years ago. In February of 2005, the Minneapolis, MN based company recalled approximately 87,000 defibrillator devices (also known as ICDs, or implantable cardioverter defibrillators) and pacemakers after discovering a problem with their batteries.

Other industry recalls

Also in 2005, the Guidant Corporation, now part of the Boston Scientific Corporation, recalled another 50,000 defibrillator devices after discovering that some could short circuit. Guidant was blasted by doctors, patients and the consumer groups for not acting quickly enough. While Medtronic’s recall was quicker than Guidant’s, some experts say that it still wasn’t quick enough as the company knew about the problems at least six months in advance. This has caused consumers to wonder whether or not getting a defibrillator is really worth the risk.

Market decline

Medtronic’s stock has plummeted since the recall was announced. Their stock listed at nearly $62 per share before the recall. One week later, their stock was reported at $47 per share – a 25% decline. Medtronic has, or had, approximately half of the entire defibrillator market along with other giants, Boston Scientific (Guidant) and St. Jude.

Industry experts had predicted an increase in this market for 2008, but are now slowly backing away from that prediction after the latest Medtronic recall.

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