Why is Guidant recalling some of their defibrillators?
. On June 17, 2005, Guidant Corporation recalled certain implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators due to potentially fatal programming malfunctions of the devices. The recalled defibrillators were shown to develop an internal short circuit without warning, resulting in failure to deliver cardiac shocks when needed. When the required electrical impulses for treatment are not delivered to the heart, the heart can cease functioning, often resulting in patient death due to improper blood flow.
