CHF Solutions Names Michael S. Gebauer Vice President of Marketing.

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. -- CHF Solutions, Inc., a private medical device manufacturer, has named Michael S. Gebauer vice president of marketing, effective immediately. In this role, Gebauer will leverage the company's recent clinical trial results to lead and expand the sales and marketing efforts for the Aquadex(TM) System 100, the company's system used to treat fluid-overloaded patients suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF).

"Mike is a proven leader in commercializing new technologies to treat heart failure," said John Erb, chief executive officer of CHF Solutions. "He already knows many of our key customers, understands the CHF market and has worked through all phases of the medical device business. With the completion of two clinical studies, Mike will be armed with more data demonstrating the effectiveness of our Aquadex System 100 and Aquapheresis(TM) to treat patients suffering from fluid overload."

Aquapheresis is a procedure performed with the Aquadex System 100 to safely and predictably remove excess fluid from fluid-overloaded patients. In heart failure patients, an inefficient heart can lead to a buildup of excess fluid, causing swollen legs and arms, fatigue, and eventually severe and life-threatening shortness of breath.

From 1998 to the present, Gebauer held several sales and marketing management positions at Guidant Corporation, Arden Hills, Minn., including sales manager for the vascular interventions and cardiac rhythm management divisions. As group marketing manager for heart failure, Gebauer led the 2002 Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy - Defibrillation launch for Guidant, including the development of a new sales force to increase adoption of the therapy as well as capture market share. In addition, he has significant experience in product development and operations management. Prior to joining Guidant, Gebauer held sales and marketing positions at Physio-Control Corporation, now part of Medtronic, and CIBA Pharmaceuticals, now owned by Novartis.

"I am pleased to join a great team on the cusp of rapid growth," said Gebauer. "Acceptance of Aquapheresis to treat fluid-overloaded patients is gaining momentum every day, and I look forward to developing the market as well as our business."

Gebauer graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1987 with a bachelor of science degree in operations research and served as a U.S. Air Force pilot from 1987 to 1992. He also earned a master's degree in business administration from Webster University.

Recent Clinical Results

CHF Solutions recently completed two major clinical trials that demonstrated clear clinical benefits of Aquapheresis, administered via the Aquadex System 100. With data from these trials, CHF Solutions can now more effectively market the Aquadex System 100 to physicians and hospitals treating CHF patients.

The results of the EUPHORIA (Early Ultrafiltration Therapy in Patients with Decompensated Heart Failure and Observed Resistance to Interventions with Diuretic Agents) trial at Midwest Heart Specialists, Chicago, demonstrated that early treatment with CHF Solutions' Aquadex System 100 facilitated discharge in three days or less of 68 percent of hospitalized patients admitted with acutely decompensated heart failure and diuretic resistance. These patients exhibited improvement on the Quality Of Life and NYHA (New York Heart Association) classification scales. In follow-up, none of the patients were readmitted within 30 days. The company plans to announce results for EUPHORIA-ECHO at the annual meeting for the International Society of Heart & Lung Transplantation, April 5-9, in Philadelphia.

The RAPID CHF (Relief for Acutely Fluid Overloaded PatIents with Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure) clinical trial, conducted by the Minnesota Heart Failure Consortium at six Minneapolis/St. Paul-based hospitals, was the first randomized trial of ultrafiltration therapy ever performed for acute heart failure patients. The RAPID CHF study assessed several measures of clinical efficacy during and 30 days after treatment. The results demonstrated that hospitalized CHF patients treated with a single, eight-hour Aquapheresis session, in addition to standard medical therapy, achieved significantly greater volume removal 24 hours after enrollment, compared to patients receiving standard medical therapy alone.

The company recently initiated a prospective, randomized and controlled study that will enroll 200 patients at as many as 20 U.S. clinical sites. Called the UltrafiltratioN versus IV Diuretics for Patients HospitaLized for Acute Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure (UNLOAD), this trial will compare the long-term safety and efficacy of treatment with the Aquadex System 100 technology to conventional pharmaceutical therapy. CHF Solutions expects to announce clinical trial results in the fourth quarter of 2005.

About CHF Solutions

CHF Solutions, based in Brooklyn Park, Minn., is a privately held manufacturer of innovative medical devices for cardiac care. The company's mission is to provide medical practitioners with innovative and practical solutions that enable the treatment of patients with unmet clinical needs. Its initial product offering, the Aquadex(TM) System 100, performs an advanced form of ultrafiltration, Aquapheresis(TM), which can remove up to four liters (one gallon) of excess fluid from the body in eight hours. Unlike some drug-based therapies, Aquapheresis removes this fluid with no clinically significant impact on electrolytes, heart rate or blood chemistry. The procedure is highly automated, easy to use, transportable and can be performed in virtually any clinical setting.

For additional information about CHF Solutions, Aquapheresis, and the Aquadex System 100, visit www.chfsolutions.com.