FDA Warns About Heart Defibrillators After 2 People Die

The problem is the batteries die almost without warning

Two people have died after the batteries in implanted heart defibrillators made by St. Jude Medical failed early, and the company has issued warnings about 400,000 of the devices.

While the company doesn't recommend that doctors remove the devices from patients, it says doctors need to get in touch with users and check them out, NBC News reported.

The problem is the batteries die almost without warning, the Food and Drug Administration says. The device is supposed to give a warning called an Elective Replacement Indicator (ERI) alert three months before the battery is fully depleted.

The affected devices are St. Jude Medical Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillator (CRT-D) device.

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