Update On Vice President Dick Cheney's Surgical Procedure.

Business Editors/Health Writers

If you are reporting on today's surgical procedure to implant a Medtronic GEM(R) III DR Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) into Vice President Dick Cheney, please keep the following key points in mind:

-- Sudden cardiac arrest is severely undertreated. According to the American
Heart Association, about 225,000 episodes occur each year among adults in the
U.S. alone.

- Experts believe only one in four patients indicated for ICDs actually receive
an implant.

- Sudden cardiac arrest is a major health problem worldwide. Most episodes are
caused by the rapid and/or chaotic activity of the heart known as ventricular
tachycardia (VT) or fibrillation (VF).

-- An implantable defibrillator is like "having an emergency room in your
chest."

- ICDs, which are not pacemakers, constantly monitor the rhythm of the heart.
When an arrhythmia is detected, the device automatically delivers appropriate
electric shock therapy.

-- People at high risk for an arrhythmia should talk to an electrophysiologist,
a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders, about
whether they are a possible candidate for an ICD.

-- While antiarrhythmic drug therapy is helpful for many patients, it can do
nothing to stop an arrhythmia once it occurs. Several major studies show that
patients at high risk for ventricular tachycardia should have an ICD implanted
as FIRST-LINE therapy.

-- Risk factors for SCD include a previous episode, a family history of SCA and
poor pumping function or heart failure. A person who has had a massive heart
attack would be at greater risk than someone who has suffered a minor one.

-- ICDs are about the size of a small pager and can be implanted in about an
hour. Many patients are discharged the same day.

-- ICDs are implanted in 80,000 people worldwide each year.

-- Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading
medical technology company, providing lifelong solutions for people with
chronic disease. Its Internet address is www.medtronic.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

For additional information about implantable cardioverter defibrillators, go to the Medtronic Newsroom, www.medtronic.com/newsroom/media_kits_DI.html.