PRECEDE-HF Clinical Trial to Evaluate Ability of Cardiac Trend Data to Prevent Heart Failure Hospitalizations.

Comprehensive and Proprietary Suite of Heart Failure Diagnostics May Lead to Improved Patient Outcomes

MINNEAPOLIS -- Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that it has begun enrolling in the PRECEDE-HF clinical trial that will evaluate Medtronic's proprietary Cardiac Compass[R] and OptiVol[R] Fluid Status Monitoring features to determine whether cardiac trend data may help physicians prevent heart failure hospitalizations. Cardiac Compass data and OptiVol Fluid Status Monitoring are currently available on some of Medtronic's newest devices, the Concerto[R] and InSync Sentry[R] cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-Ds) and Virtuoso[R] implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Device and physiologic trend data can be accessed remotely via the Medtronic CareLink[R] Network, or during in-office visits for patients with these devices.

The PRECEDE-HF trial (Prospective, Randomized Evaluation of Cardiac Compass[R] with OptiVol[R] in the Early Detection of Decompensation Events for Heart Failure) will enroll up to 2,550 patients at up to 100 centers in the United States and up to 15 centers in Canada. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the use of Cardiac Compass with OptiVol Fluid Status Monitoring with standard clinical assessment (Access Arm) will reduce heart failure hospitalizations or deaths compared to standard clinical assessment alone (Control Arm).

Heart failure is the most costly cardiovascular disease in the U.S., at an estimated $40 billion per year. Further, there are more than one million hospitalizations in the U.S. annually with a primary diagnosis of heart failure1; more than $14 billion is spent each year just on heart failure hospitalizations2. More than five million Americans suffer from heart failure, with more than 500,000 new cases diagnosed annually3.

"Proactive patient monitoring is critical to effectively managing heart failure patients," said William T. Abraham, M.D., FACP, FACC, professor of medicine and Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University, and principal investigator in the trial. "Long-term trends in physiologic parameters, derived from implantable cardiac devices, may provide an early warning to impending episodes of worsening heart failure. Such technologies represent promising new approaches for effectively monitoring and managing heart failure patients."

Cardiac Compass trends provide up to 14 months of clinical data, including arrhythmia episodes, therapies delivered, physical activity, heart rate, pacing activity, and intrathoracic impedance (via OptiVol Fluid Trends). These diagnostic and monitoring tools may be useful in the clinical management of patients with heart failure.

Medtronic's exclusive OptiVol Fluid Status Monitoring feature measures changes in impedance in the thoracic cavity. Using very low electrical pulses that travel across the chest area encompassing the lungs and heart, the system can measure the level of resistance to the electrical pulses, which may indicate the level of fluid in the chest.

The PRECEDE-HF trial also will investigate the use of OptiVol Patient Alerts, which can be either audible or visual indicators. The OptiVol Patient Alerts are intended to inform the patient of a change in fluid status that may be indicative of worsening heart failure. The data also will be sent remotely and automatically to the clinician, who can then view the trend information via a secure Web site.

"A key element of this study is the co-management of patients by heart failure specialists and electrophysiologists, in tandem," said David Steinhaus, M.D., vice president and medical director of the Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management business at Medtronic. "We believe this collaboration, when paired with the exclusive features found on Medtronic implantable cardiac devices will produce tangible outcomes of improved management of heart failure patients."

The PRECEDE-HF trial is one of several efforts to substantiate the impact of Medtronic's most advanced devices and features to enable better patient care and reduce unnecessary healthcare costs. The CONNECT (Clinical Evaluation of Remote Notification to Reduce Time to Clinical Decision) Trial, initiated in late 2006, is a randomized, prospective study to demonstrate that Medtronic's wireless remote management system, consisting of the Medtronic CareLink Network and Monitor, Concerto CRT-D and Virtuoso ICD with Conexus[R] Wireless Telemetry, and CareAlert[R] Monitoring, reduces the time to clinical decision compared to in-office care. Secondary objectives include a reduction in healthcare utilization, such as hospitalizations and visits to the emergency department; and characterizing the burden of in-office follow-up visits for patients and their families, among other patient quality of life issues.

About Medtronic

Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world.

1 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2006 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Committee. Circulation 2006. 113(6):e85-151.

2 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2005 Update. American Heart Association 2005.

3 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2007 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation, published online Dec. 28, 2006.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 27, 2007. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.