New Adapta pacemaker portfolio presented to Cardiologists at Medtronic's state of the art solutions for Arrythmia & Heart Failure Management Conference

Portfolio comprised of new physiologic, fully automatic pacemakers designed to safeguard cardiac function

Dubai - April. 30, 2006 - At the recent annual meeting on State of the Art Solutions for Arrhythmia and Heart Failure Management in Istanbul, Medtronic, Inc., (NYSE: MDT) presented latest developments in cardiac resynchronization disease management to cardiologists/attendees from Turkey and the Middle East. The Medtronic Adapta, Versa, and Sensia pacing systems are designed to provide physiologic pacing adapted to the needs of individual patients.

"These new, fully automatic pacemakers not only include features that simplify the clinical management of the device. They also reduce unnecessary pacing and promote the heart's natural conduction," said Dr. Haran Burri, from the Cardiology Service at the University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. "Physicians no longer have to make a trade-off between these key features when treating their bradycardia patients."

The Adapta pacemaker offers the Medtronic-exclusive pacing mode called MVP or Managed Ventricular Pacing, which enables the device to be programmed to deliver pacing pulses to the heart's lower right chamber (ventricle) only when necessary, often less than two percent of the time. Other dual-chamber pacemakers often pace the right ventricle 90 percent or more of the time. Recent clinical studies have suggested that reducing this pacing stimulation may reduce the patient's risk of developing heart failure and atrial fibrillation, a potentially life-threatening irregular heartbeat.

The new pacemaker systems also incorporate an array of automatic features designed to help physicians improve pacing therapy and streamline the patient follow-up process, potentially minimizing the amount of time spent in a physician's office. The Adapta portfolio includes:

• Therapy Guide, a new feature that provides recommended device settings based on physician-selected patient conditions, and
• Cardiac Compass Trend Reports, which graphically display six months of a patient's atrial arrhythmia status, providing information to help physicians better manage device and drug therapy while monitoring disease progression.

The Adapta, Versa and Sensia pacemakers also include the Medtronic-exclusive feature Atrial Capture Management (ACM). ACM is intended to automatically adjust impulses for optimal stimulation of the heart's upper right chamber (atrium).  

"Many patients in the Middle East who suffer from a slow heart rate continue to be undiagnosed and even when diagnosed they seldom have access to proper treatment," said Mohammed Barhoumi, Business Manager Medtronic Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management for the Middle East. "With the introduction of the new Adapta portfolio, we are opening up the way for more patients to access the needed therapy, mainly because the Medtronic pacemaker is now fully automatic and will accelerate the heart rate to normal ranges only when necessary. We've continued to redefine pacing in the Middle East for the last decade setting new standards of care that best serve these patients and their physicians."

Medtronic's Physiologic Pacing Program, or MP³, is a comprehensive initiative to help educate physicians on recent clinical evidence about ventricular pacing, and provide tailored solutions to either promote or mimic a patient's normal cardiac function. The Adapta pacemaker portfolio, featuring algorithms clinically proven to effectively promote intrinsic conduction, is a key component of the MP³ initiative that illustrates where, when and how to best pace the heart.

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About Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world. For more information please refer to the Medtronic website at http://www.medtronic.com/ME/ or www.medtronic.com. Medronic Mediterranean is located in Beirut Lebanon at Omar Daouk Street, St.Charles City Center, 6^th floor. Tel:+961137060-Fax:+9611364164

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Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 27, 2006.  Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

© Press Release 2006