St. Jude Medical Announces First North American Implant of the SJM Epic Supra Valve Following Canadian Regulatory Approval.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) today announced the first North American implant and Canadian regulatory approval of its SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve. The implant was performed by Robert Cossette, M.D., Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on a 68-year-old man who was diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis (narrowing). The operation was successful and the patient is doing well.

The SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve is an aortic supra-annular stented porcine tissue valve. (A supra-annular valve is implanted above the annulus, which is a supporting structure around the aortic valve leaflets.) The valve design is based on the same platform as the SJM Epic(TM) valve, which began U.S. clinical trials in January 2003. Both the SJM Epic(TM) valve and SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve are based on the design of the SJM Biocor(TM) valve, which has a documented 20 years of clinical use and 15 years of proven durability. In addition, the SJM Epic(TM) valve and SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve feature the Company's proprietary Linx(TM) anticalcification technology.

The SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve was designed with an optimized stent to native annulus ratio to provide excellent hemodynamic performance. In addition, the sewing cuff and the low-profile stent are designed for ease of implant in the supra-annular position. The SJM Epic(TM) Supra is available in aortic sizes ranging from 19 mm to 23 mm.

Stented tissue valves are becoming an increasingly important part of the heart valve market, representing about 45 percent of the U.S. heart valve segment. The SJM Epic(TM) Supra expands St. Jude Medical's stented valve product offering, providing additional options for the Company's physician customers and their patients.

The SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve was commercialized in Europe in October 2003. Both the SJM Biocor(TM) and SJM Epic(TM) valves are currently available in Europe, Canada, Latin America and Asia.

"We're pleased to introduce the SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve to the Canadian market, underscoring our commitment to enhance our stented tissue valve portfolio," said Jane J. Song, President of St. Jude Medical's Cardiac Surgery business. "The SJM Epic(TM) Supra valve complements our SJM Epic(TM) and SJM Biocor(TM) stented valves, offering a supra-annular option to our physician customers."

Any statements made regarding the Company's anticipated future product launches, regulatory approvals, revenues, earnings, market shares, and potential clinical success are forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as those described in the Financial Section of the Company's Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003 (see pages 11-16). Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (www.sjm.com) is dedicated to the design, manufacture and distribution of innovative medical devices of the highest quality, offering physicians, patients and payers unmatched clinical performance and demonstrated economic value.