Medtronic Lawsuit | Sprint Fidelis Lead Recall Attorney Lawyer

Patients and families have continued to look at their options of filing a Medtronic lawsuit following the 2007 Sprint Fidelis lead recall. Defibrillator lead fractures have caused heart patients to suffer unnecessary shocks and subsequent surgeries to replace defective leads.

How The Heart Works

For anyone with heart disease, it is important to have as much information as you can in order to understand your condition, the disease and treatment options.

The first step is to understand the function of the heart. The heart is a muscle that ensures blood, which carries life-giving oxygen, is pumped throughout the body.

The heart is about the size of a fist, and rests in the chest, just to the left of the sternum. It consists of four chambers, a right atrium and right ventricle and a left atrium and left ventricle. If you put your hand to your chest, you can usually feel your heartbeat, which is the continuous pumping action of the heart. When your heart beats, two actions are taking place.

On the right side of the heart, blood that has traveled throughout the body is pumped into the right atrium. Within the right atrium, the sinus node provides an electrical impulse that initiates each heartbeat. The right atrium contracts, opening a valve that sends this oxygen poor blood into the right ventricle, where another contraction takes place, and the blood travels to the pulmonary artery, and then through blood vessels in the lungs where it picks up more oxygen as we breathe.

At the same time, on the left side of the heart, oxygen rich blood returns from the lungs through the pulmonary veins. This blood enters the left atrium and as the atrium fills, it contracts, sending blood to the left ventricle. Once the left ventricle fills, it also contracts and blood is sent to the aorta, which is the main artery carrying blood from the heart to the body.

The left and right atria contract at the same time and the sound of the valve closing as the blood is sent to the ventricles creates the “lub” or first part of the heartbeat. Then the left and right ventricles contract, sending blood to the pulmonary artery and aorta. The sound of the valves closing after that action causes the “dub” or second part of a heartbeat.

If any of the four parts of the heart is not able to pump efficiently, it affects the heart’s ability to provide oxygen throughout the body. Some people have medical conditions that affect their heart’s ability to pump regularly and efficiently. Doctors may recommend that they use a device called a defibrillator to regulate pumping.

Patients who received defibrillators between 2004 and 2007 should determine if they have the Medtronic defibrillator that used wires or leads called Sprint Fidelis. These leads have since been recalled because of potential fractures or breakage that have led to injury and death.

If you have a defibrillator containing Sprint Fidelis lead, contact your doctor to discuss your medical options. If you or a loved one has suffered a Medtronic lead fracture please call or fill out our online contact form and a Medtronic lawsuit attorney will discuss your case at no charge and explain your legal options.