Guidant announces FDA marketing clearance of AtheroCath Bantam Coronary Atherectomy Catheter.

INDIANAPOLIS--(HealthWire)--Dec. 3, 1996--Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PSE: GDT) announced today that the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the AtheroCath Bantam(TM) Coronary Atherectomy Catheter for marketing in the United States. The catheter is used by cardiologists to perform Directional Coronary Atherectomy (DCA), a non-surgical procedure where artery-clogging plaque is shaved from coronary vessels.

Guidant's Vascular Intervention group will manufacture and market the AtheroCath Bantam catheter, which cleans out blocked arteries by cutting, collecting and removing the plaque clogging the vessel.

Limited release of the catheter will begin in 1996, with full market availability expected in the first quarter of 1997. The AtheroCath Bantam Coronary Atherectomy Catheter is the third new product introduction from Guidant's Vascular Intervention group this quarter.

The final results of a clinical trial evaluating DCA effectiveness were presented at the national meeting of the American Heart Association in November. The Balloon Optimal Atherectomy Trial (BOAT) demonstrated that optimal DCA is 20 percent more effective than traditional angioplasty alone at preventing restenosis (re-narrowing of the vessel).

"The AtheroCath Bantam is yet another Guidant product that leads to lower restenosis rates," said Ginger Howard, president of Guidant's Vascular Intervention group. "The reduced profile of the shaft of this catheter allows cardiologists better visualization of the vessel while using smaller guiding catheters."

A leader in the medical device industry, Guidant Corporation provides innovative, cost-effective products and services to the global cardiology and minimally invasive surgery marketplaces

CONTACT: Guidant Corporation, Indianapolis

Rob Allen, Media Relations, 317/971-2031

Todd McKinney, Investor Relations, 317/971-2094