BIOTRONIK Announces First U.S. Market Implantation of the New Tachos DR-Atrial Tx Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator.

Business Editors/Medical Writers

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2002

BIOTRONIK, Inc. announced the first U.S. market implantation of the Tachos DR-Atrial Tx, a dual-chamber Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) with both atrial- and ventricular-tiered therapies.

Persons with atrial fibrillation, an abnormally rapid heart rate in the upper chambers of the heart, can experience an increased risk of stroke and a reduced quality of life, with symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, and fatigue. It has been estimated that approximately 2.2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation. The Tachos DR-Atrial Tx ICD provides an effective, painless way to treat this condition by delivering therapy specific to individual patient needs.

The Tachos DR-Atrial Tx was implanted by Dr. W. Eugene Sanders, Jr. in a 59-year-old male at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "The Tachos DR-Atrial Tx was selected due to its rate of effectiveness for both atrial and ventricular therapy treatment and its atrial algorithm and success rate," Dr. Sanders said.

The new device is designed for patients who require therapy for the treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias (abnormally rapid, potentially fatal heart rate in the lower chambers) with a history or risk of developing atrial tachyarrhythmias.

Approximately 32 percent of all ICD recipients have or will develop atrial tachyarrhythmias after their first implantation. These indications suggest that tens of thousands of patients may benefit from an ICD with atrial therapies.

The Tachos DR-Atrial Tx ICD offers a comprehensive set of features for the management of these conditions, including SMART DetectionTM, one of the most specific detection algorithms available for the discrimination of ventricular and supraventricular tachycardias. The device also includes multiple options to terminate atrial arrhythmias such as pacing, high-frequency burst, and shock therapy in both AT and AF detection zones. As demonstrated in the BIOTRONIK TACT (Tachos Atrial Conversion Therapy) Clinical Study, Tachos DR-Atrial Tx painlessly converted 43 percent of atrial tachyarrhythmias with high-frequency burst -- a substantially higher success rate than achieved by any other commercially available device.

BIOTRONIK is recognized worldwide as a complete provider of cardiovascular products of the highest quality and reliability. The company is committed to researching and developing new biomedical products that improve the quality of life for thousands of patients. With this release, BIOTRONIK becomes one of only two companies in the U.S. to provide atrial therapies in a dual-chamber ICD. Its unmatched reliability record is the result of maintaining the highest standards in engineering and design. The company's U.S. headquarters are located in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and its worldwide headquarters are in Berlin, Germany.