or   Contact: Randi Appelbaum/DMS at 212-727-1802 or e-mail at RandiA@dmswire.com

RADIO INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
WHEN: TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST

IN THE NEWS: Results from Major Government-Sponsored Study on March 8 Could Indicate that Thousands of Lives Can Be Saved Each Year from No. 1 U.S. Killer – Heart Disease.

The results of the study will be presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American Academy of Cardiologists (ACC) in New Orleans.

WHAT: Richard Luceri, M.D., a leading cardiologist and ICD implanter, will be available for radio interview phoners on Tuesday, March 9th to discuss (in very simplistic terms) the results of the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) & its implications and why implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICDs) are underutilized.

Dr. Luceri will also talk about other news from the ACC Meeting in New Orleans -- New Information On Sudden Cardiac Arrest and heart failure: Diagnostics, Prevention And Treatments.

WHY:
More than 1,200 Americans die every day from this country's single, largest killer - Sudden Cardiac Arrest. SCA frequently occurs in certain people who have suffered a heart attack or have heart failure - in fact most people confuse SCA with a "massive heart" attack.

A medical device called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) has proven to be 98 percent effective at preventing SCA. While ICDs are currently indicated in certain patients who have already had heart attacks and who have survived sudden cardiac arrest, tragically less than 20 percent of patients actually receive a device due to lack of education and awareness.

More About The Study:
On March 8, new data investigating the use of ICDs in a new patient population - mild to moderate heart failure patients - will be presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American Academy of Cardiologists (ACC) in New Orleans. If peer-reviewed results from SCD-HeFT are positive, and all currently indicated patients received an ICD, we could prevent approximately 150,000 lives from SCA every year.