Vice President Cheney Receives Medtronic Gem III DR Implantable, Dual-Chamber Pacing and Defibrillation Device.

Business Editors/Health Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2001

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), confirmed today that Vice President Dick Cheney received a Medtronic GEM(R) III DR implantable defibrillator for treating complex heart rhythm problems. The device works both as a defibrillator and rate-responsive pacemaker, and provides protection against sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), a condition that causes more than 225,000 deaths each year in the United States. Of those stricken with SCA, 95 percent die before emergency response teams are able to reach and revive them. Therefore, prompt diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm abnormalities may be crucial to the health and well-being of the patient.

Patients such as Vice President Cheney, with a family or personal history of heart problems, should check with their physicians to determine whether they should be referred to heart rhythm specialists known as electrophysiologists for diagnosis and treatment. This is vitally important because, of the 260,000 patients each year who are newly diagnosed with heart rhythm abnormalities, only 15 percent receive the device protection recommended by American College of Cardiology guidelines.

The GEM III DR (Model 7271) supplies therapeutic shocks for dangerously fast heartbeats, only as needed. The device also provides dual-chamber, rate-responsive pacing and synchronization for rhythms that are too slow in either the upper or lower chambers of the heart. Rate-responsive pacing senses bodily movement and adjusts its pacing rate to the patient's activity level.

The GEM III DR also incorporates PR Logic(TM), which can discriminate between

fast ventricular rhythms that are life-threatening and fast atrial arrhythmias that are not. This technology combines atrial and ventricular information to analyze hearth rhythm patterns, much as a physician does when reviewing rhythm patterns on an electrocardiogram.

The pager-sized device can deliver up to 30 joules of therapeutic energy and is expected to offer seven to nine years of service in typical use.

The GEM III DR device was the first in the industry to offer the capability to automatically check the effectiveness of its electrical leads without delivering painful test shocks. It also includes a Patient Alert(TM) feature, which enables the device to continuously monitor its performance and alert the patient with an audible tone when it has collected data for which physician attention is required - for example, if the device has low battery voltage or its lead impedance is not within an acceptable range.

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:

Photo of the GEM III DR device, and a graphic of the implanted device, will be available shortly.

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

Any statements made about the company's anticipated financial results and regulatory approvals are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2000. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.