St. Jude Medical Inc. is denying heart implants it manufactures may have design problems. However, the company has discontinue sales of two types of wires used in its devices.
In March, the medical journal Heart Rhythm Journal published a report by Dr. Robert Hauser saying a problem with St. Jude's Riata device caused the deaths of at least 20 patients.
The "failures appeared to be caused by insulation defects that resulted in short-circuiting between high-voltage components," the study stated.
Denying wiring problems and stating they have fixed the wiring problem by adding an additional coating, St. Jude's requested the study be retracted before it is released in its print edition.
The Riata and Riata ST leads for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) were originally pulled from shelves in 2011.
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