DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Patients treated with a catheter-delivered heart valve marketed by Medtronic Inc. (MDT) had improvement in valve function but saw higher rates of mortality and stroke at six months than at one month, according to results from a large, multicenter trial released Saturday. Results from the trial, funded by Medtronic, are scheduled to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual conference in Chicago. The trial was conducted at 44 centers in Western Europe, Asia and South America. Each center had performed at least 40 catheter-delivered valve-implantation procedures. A total of 996 frail, elderly patients at high risk for heart surgery were implanted with Medtronic's CoreValve device, used to treat severe narrowing of the aortic valve. Mortality rates at one month and six months were 4.5% and 12.8%, respectively. Stroke rates were 2.9% and 3.4%.Medtronic said the rates were consistent with previously reported data from national registries in Europe. "Patients had great valve function after implantation with low stroke and mortality rates at three and six months," said Axel Linke, principal investigator and professor of medicine at Universitat Leipzig Herzzentrum in Germany. Dr. Linke is a consultant for Medtronic. Many companies are getting into the market for catheter-delivered valves, which are considered to have multibillion dollar potential. Competitor Edwards Lifesciences (EW) has already launched such a valve in the U.S. Medtronic has said it expects to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for CoreValve in 2014. The valve is already available in 50 countries outside the U.S. Medtronic shares closed at $38.70 on Friday. The stock is up 1.18% for the year. -By Anjali Athavaley, Dow Jones Newswires; anjali.athavaley@dowjones.com
