Some implanted pacemakers and defibrillators may have defective parts

It must be annoying to find out your new toaster has been recalled by the manufacturer. And it’s obviously a huge inconvenience when you turn on the evening news to discover that your car has been recalled. But imagine having a pacemaker implanted, and then being notified that your pacemaker has been recalled because it might fail without warning.

That’s enough to make your heart skip a beat.

Last week, Boston Scientific Corp. contacted more than 27,000 patients with implanted pacemakers and defibrillators to inform them that the devices may have a defective part. The good news (precious little) is that the implanted devices don’t necessarily have to be replaced. Patients should see their doctors immediately to determine if replacement is required.

So far, five implanted devices have malfunctioned. None of them resulted in death, but four cases required surgery to replace the devices.

The devices were made by Guidant, a company that Boston Scientific recently bought. Apparently Boston execs knew what they were getting into. Last year, Guidant recalled 109,000 defibrillators after seven deaths were associated with a particular device. Not too surprisingly, many product liability lawsuits are pending.

So, would you buy a product that you KNEW was going to be recalled? The execs at Boston Scientific must not read Consumer Reports.

Sources:
“Boston Scientific Issues Warning on Heart Devices” Bloomberg, 6/26/06, bloomberg.com