MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATS Medical, Inc. announces the excellent clinical results from an eleven-year study of the ATS Open Pivot(R) Heart Valve is the subject of a study published in the September issue of Annals of Thoracic Surgery, a leading monthly journal in cardiovascular surgery.
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The article, “Eleven-Year Single-Center Experience with the ATS Open Pivot Bileaflet Heart Valve,” is a retrospective study conducted by the Division of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital Basel and the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. In the study of over 600 ATS Open Pivot Heart Valve recipients, midterm clinical results confirm earlier studies reporting outstanding clinical performance and low-complication rates associated with the ATS Open Pivot Heart Valve.
“We congratulate the authors on an incredibly diligent and thorough study and are pleased that once again the exceptional clinical results from the ATS Open Pivot Heart Valve have been confirmed,” says ATS Medical President, CEO and Chairman of the Board Michael D. Dale.
The study noted that some patients utilized INR home monitoring for management of anticoagulation and that INR home monitoring led to “better targeting of the anticoagulation corridor which may therefore present additional health benefits for the patient cohort.” ATS Medical recently announced its partnership with the leading provider of INR home monitoring services, QAS, Quality Assured Services.
Cardiac surgeons increasingly recognize the ATS Open Pivot Heart Valve as a significant evolution in mechanical heart valve design and performance. Unlike the cavity pivots in traditional mechanical valve designs, the open pivot design eliminates recesses, minimizing flow disruption and turbulence in the area of the pivot, providing excellent patient outcomes.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is the official journal of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. The journal provides original coverage of recent progress in chest and cardiovascular surgery and related fields to thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons, pediatric surgeons, general surgeons, anesthesiologists, oncologists, cardiologists and radiologists.
About ATS Medical
ATS Medical, Inc. manufactures and markets products and services focused on cardiac surgery. The company, global in scope, has been headquartered in Minneapolis since its founding in 1991. More than 130,000 ATS Open Pivot(R) Heart Valves, which utilize a unique pivot design resulting in exceptional performance and low risk profile, have been implanted in patients worldwide. ATS Medical’s focus on serving the cardiac surgery community is further strengthened by offerings that include ATS Simulus(TM) annuloplasty products for heart valve repair, SurgiFrost(R) and FrostByte(TM) products for surgical cryoablation of cardiac arrhythmias, RTI-Cardiovascular for allograft tissue services, QAS home monitoring services for anticoagulation therapy and the development of PARSUS blood filtration technology. The ATS Medical web site is http://www.atsmedical.com .
Safe Harbor
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that may include statements regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of a number of important factors, including regulatory actions, competition, pricing pressures, supplier actions and management of growth. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company’s activities and results, please refer to the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, as amended.
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CONTACT: Michael Dale, President and CEO of ATS Medical, Inc.,+1-763-553-7736; or Investors, Jennifer Beugelmans, +1-646-277-8704, orDoug Sherk, +1-415-896-6820, or Media, Steve DiMattia, +1-646-277-8706, allof EVC Group, Inc.
Web site: http://www.atsmedical.com/
