St. Jude Medical Announces U.S. Launch of New Technology for Placing Guidewires in Coronary Vessels; Venture(TM) Wire Control Catheter Gives Physicians Greater Agility for Turns Up to 90-Degrees, More Control to Penetrate Challenging Lesions.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) today announced the U.S. launch of an advanced catheter for placing guidewires during catheterization procedures. The Venture(TM) Wire Control Catheter was designed to give cardiologists more control and support as they steer guidewires during interventional cardiology procedures such as stenting and angioplasty.

The Venture(TM) catheter features a deflectable tip that can bend up to 90 degrees, allowing for guidewire placement in hard-to-reach branches of the coronary and peripheral anatomy. Physicians turn a control knob on the handle to mechanically deflect the tip and precisely direct the catheter toward a specific location.

The catheter's coiled torque shaft provides back-up support, giving the physician more focused "pushability" and providing greater control when crossing a full range of lesions, from narrowed vessels to chronic total occlusions, where lesions completely block the vessel. With Venture(TM), some patients may now be treated through minimally invasive procedures, rather than having to undergo bypass surgery.

"Venture(TM) represents a significant technological advance in the portfolio of therapeutic access devices available to cardiologists," said Paul R. Buckman, president of St. Jude Medical's Cardiology Division. "This device helps cardiologists efficiently place wires in the cath lab, rather than sending patients to the operating room (OR) where costs and risks can be higher."

In the U.S., more than 1 million catheter-based coronary procedures are performed each year. The most common challenges for these procedures include highly angulated takeoffs (up to 90 degrees), arteries with multiple turns, and chronic total occlusions. The catheter's deflectable tip allows for efficient navigation of angles, adjusts for complex turns in the artery and provides guidewire support when attempting to cross chronic total occlusions. It is compatible with all standard .014" guidewires and accommodates wire exchanges, if needed.

St. Jude Medical expanded its cardiology portfolio through the April 2005 acquisition of Velocimed, a Minnesota-based company with three product platforms for interventional cardiology, including the Venture catheter. The Venture catheter is also commercially available in Europe and Canada.

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.

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, 2004 (see page 16). Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.