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Tennessee Teen Institute staffer donates kidney to peer The Tennessean She went on dialysis and the organ transplant list soon after. She lost 130 pounds. “I was on dialysis for three years,” she said. “My doctors don't know why my kidneys just stopped working.” Her illness was something she kept private. and more »

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Decades of experience in ablation technologies used to develop the industry’s first multi-electrode technology for renal denervation

EuroPCR 2012

St. Paul, MN And Paris --(BUSINESS WIRE)--St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced CE Mark Approval and launch of its EnligHTN™ renal denervation system during EuroPCR. Renal denervation is a specialized ablation procedure that has been clinically proven to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension, or high blood pressure, that is resistant to medical therapy. Clinical data from the EnligHTN I trial about the safety and efficacy of the company’s renal denervation technology will be presented on Wednesday.

Hypertension is a root cause of a variety of life-threatening health problems, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. It impacts more than 1 billion people globally at an estimated cost of $500 billion annually. About 25 percent of patients with hypertension do not respond adequately to conventional treatment with medication.

“In my experience, the EnligHTN renal denervation system has been successful in reducing blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension,” said Prof. Stephen Worthley, the EnligHTN I trial’s Primary Investigator from Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia. “The multi-electrode renal denervation system provides an efficient and effective alternative treatment for patients with resistant hypertension, and has the possibility to change the way that hypertension is treated.”

Using the EnligHTN system, an ablation catheter delivers radiofrequency (RF) energy to create lesions (tiny scars) along the renal sympathetic nerves – a network of nerves that help to regulate pressure; the intentional disruption of the nerve supply has been clinically found to decrease systolic blood pressure. This is important because the risk of cardiovascular death is cut in half with every 20 point decrease in systolic blood pressure.

“St. Jude Medical is focused on improving patient care while reducing the economic burden of epidemic diseases, and our groundbreaking EnligHTN renal denervation system is a great example of that focus,” said Frank Callaghan, president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiovascular Division. “This launch is important because it represents a significant growth opportunity and exemplifies our commitment to advancing the practice of medicine. We’ve applied the decades of insight we’ve gained from developing successful ablation technologies that treat cardiac arrhythmias to establish an innovative solution for hypertension.”

The system is the industry’s first multi-electrode ablation technology for renal denervation. With the unique basket design, each placement of the ablation catheter allows a consistent and predictable pattern of four ablations in 90-second intervals. Compared to single electrode ablations, the multi-electrode EnligHTN system has the potential to improve consistency and procedural reliability, save time as well as result in workflow and cost efficiencies. Additionally, the minimal catheter repositioning may result in a reduction of contrast and fluoroscopic (x-ray) exposure.

The technology includes a guiding catheter, ablation catheter and ablation generator. The generator uses a proprietary, temperature-controlled algorithm to deliver effective therapy.

Renal Denervation at EuroPCR

Data from the EnligHTN I (ARSENAL) trial, a prospective, multi-center study for the St. Jude Medical EnligHTN renal denervation system, will be presented during the session Novel Approaches to Renal Denervation: Preclinical and First-In-Man Studies on Wednesday, May 16 at 8:00 in room 242A. The study, led by Prof. Worthley, is expected to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the system in the treatment of patients with treatment-resistant hypertension.

A St. Jude Medical-sponsored tools and techniques session about renal denervation entitled A Practical Guide to EnligHTN Renal Denervation: a New Approach for the Treatment of Resistant Hypertension will take place Wednesday, May 16 beginning at 12:00 in Room Maillot. The session will include lectures on a variety of topics, including the role the renal nerves play in hypertension maintenance and how to set up a renal denervation practice as well as a pre-recorded live demonstration.

Attendees can visit St. Jude Medical at booth F8 and F9 found on Level 1 of the exhibition hall during EuroPCR to see the EnligHTN renal denervation system or visit SJMenligHTN.com.

About St. Jude Medical

St. Jude Medical develops medical technology and services that focus on putting more control into the hands of those who treat cardiac, neurological and chronic pain patients worldwide. The company is dedicated to advancing the practice of medicine by reducing risk wherever possible and contributing to successful outcomes for every patient. St. Jude Medical is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn. and has four major focus areas that include: cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular and neuromodulation. For more information, please visit sjm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include the expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including potential clinical successes, anticipated regulatory approvals and future product launches, and projected revenues, margins, earnings and market shares. The statements made by the Company are based upon management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include market conditions and other factors beyond the Company’s control and the risk factors and other cautionary statements described in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including those described in the Risk Factors and Cautionary Statements sections of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2012. The Company does not intend to update these statements and undertakes no duty to any person to provide any such update under any circumstance.

Copyright 2012 Business Wire All Rights Reserved.

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A woman who received a kidney transplant from her father 14 years ago is raising cash for a research charity.

Susan McAteer, 37, from Great Glen, got a kidney from dad Ian just weeks after she graduated from university in 1998.

The live transplant – which was quite revolutionary at the time – gave her "a new lease of life" after two years of daily dialysis treatment.

She will be cycling 300 miles from Staines, in Surrey, where she works for a pharmaceutical company, to Land's End, in July, with 10 work colleagues, raising cash for Kidney Research UK.

"I'm one of those people that just gets on with things but it was really tough before the transplant," said Susan.

"I was always absolutely exhausted and having to have the dialysis all the time was really restrictive.

"In the end, I was able to do it myself at home while I was sleeping but I wasn't allowed to get up the next morning, until it was done."

Susan needed a transplant after she was diagnosed with lupus – a condition which causes the immune system to attack healthy parts of the body – in Susan's case, her kidneys.

She endured daily dialysis throughout her time at university in Dundee, where she was studying chemistry.

Her mother June had to move from the family home in Cambridge to help care for her daughter, who had to have a very restricted diet.

Susan's parents both secretly underwent tests to see if they could be donors and her dad Ian was chosen.

"The change in me following the operation was absolutely amazing – I was a different person, with so much more energy and a new lease of life," said Susan. "I ate a lot of chocolate and pineapples – that was what I had craved most. It was amazing to be able to do normal things again, and I felt like I was at last back to my old self."

Susan and her team of cyclists start their challenge on July 4, hoping to cycle between 60 and 90 miles day, completing their journey on July 7. She said: "I wanted to do something for Kidney Research UK, because they do so much to support research – things I would have benefited from, had I been having my operation today."

Anyone interested in sponsoring Susan can visit:

www.kidneyresearchuk events.org/kidneypedalers300

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