A widely used heart device recalled two years ago by Medtronic may be failing in patients at a rate significantly higher than previously known, a new report by two prominent cardiac specialists indicated. The Medtronic device, known as the Sprint Fidelis lead, is an electrical cable that connects an implanted defibrillator to a patient's heart. The study also indicated that the component's failure rate might be increasing over time, a potentially troubling development for patient care.

The new study found that the Sprint Fidelis lead was still functioning in only 88 percent of the patients studied three years after being implanted. By contrast, data collected by Medtronic, using that three-year yardstick, indicated the lead continued to work in about 95 percent of patients. The new study, published Monday on the Web site of Heart Rhythm, a medical journal, is based on combined data from 3,000 patients from two major hospitals, the Minneapolis Heart Institute and the Mayo Clinic.

Read a copy of the full article on the New York Times website [off-site link]. You can also read a copy of the new study [pdf format].

Learn more about Medtronic Sprint Fidelis lead dangers and the legal rights of patients with these leads.