Ventritex to Reprogram Defibrillators

Heart patients who have a certain model of Ventritex defibrillator should see their doctors to have the implants reprogrammed, the company and government doctors announced, after two deaths that may be linked to part failure. The warning does not affect people who have implanted devices that solely boost a too-slow heart. Instead, it affects Ventritex defibrillator models V-110 and V-112 that slow down too-rapid heartbeats. Ventritex Inc. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared plans to recall and reprogram two models of its Cadence defibrillators. Sunnyvale-based Ventritex shares fell 87.5 cents to close at $20 in Nasdaq trading. There was speculation that the deaths could derail Ventritex’s pending $505-million acquisition by St. Jude Medical Inc., but in a statement St. Jude said it’s proceeding with the acquisition and expects it to close by the end of this quarter. Ventritex said the devices were implanted for about two years before the incidents happened. The company said defibrillators currently in production, the Cadet V-115 and the Contour V-145, won’t be affected by the recall.