Medtronic Kicks off Keep the Beat Campaign in Conjunction with James Taylor Summer Tour

Business Wire, June 17, 2005

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nationwide campaign to increase awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and raise funds for AED program adoption in local schools

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) today kicks off the Keep the Beat(TM) cause campaign concert series to raise funds to place life-saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools across the country. Supported by legendary singer/songwriter James Taylor and Band, the campaign will kick off in Hartford, Conn. and visit 33 U.S. cities educating communities about sudden cardiac arrest and early defibrillation throughout Taylor's "Summer's Here" 2005 tour.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States and claims the lives of up to 335,000 people a year, suddenly and without warning. Additionally, as many as one in five children may suffer from cardiac myopathies, which are often undetected and can lead to cardiac arrest and sudden death. Furthermore, given that up to 20 percent of the combined child and adult U.S. population can be found in schools on any given school day, AED placement in schools is critical to saving lives.

Funds raised through the Keep the Beat campaign will support Neighborhood Heart Watch, a non-profit organization whose mission is to place AEDs, supported by trained volunteers, in every neighborhood across the United States. Schools around the country can apply for a grant to receive a free AED, training in its use and direction in implementing a program. In sponsorship of the Keep the Beat campaign, American Medical Response, the nation's leading private medical transportation company, will be donating the training to all schools that are awarded the grants and implement AED programs.

"Our goal through the Keep the Beat campaign is to increase awareness and public access to early defibrillation, particularly in schools," said Chris O'Connell, president of Medtronic Emergency Response Systems. "Together with James Taylor and Neighborhood Heart Watch, we have an incredible opportunity to save lives in every city we visit."

At each concert venue this summer, Medtronic will host an informational booth where visitors can learn more about sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of AED programs. Medtronic and James Taylor also will sell a co-branded merchandise item, proceeds from which will benefit the Keep the Beat campaign.

"I applaud Medtronic and James Taylor for recognizing that our schools are among our most vital public places and by responding to help increase public access to defibrillation," said Dr. Douglas P. Zipes, founder of Neighborhood Heart Watch. "This combined effort is about safeguarding young lives and preventing one of the leading causes of death in this country. Neighborhood Heart Watch is privileged to play a role in helping to ensure that defibrillators will be standard equipment in schools across the country."

The National Center for Early Defibrillation, along with the National Athletic Trainers Association, Save a Life Foundation, K.E.N. Foundation and the National Cardiac Coalition of Parents, supports Keep the Beat and its efforts to ensure academic institutions are heart safe by equipping them with AEDs.

"We commend the organizers of the Keep the Beat campaign for their efforts to promote safer schools through school-site CPR-AED programs," said Mary Newman, executive director of the National Center for Early Defibrillation at the University of Pittsburgh. "As a national nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives that would otherwise be lost to sudden cardiac arrest, we can attest to the lifesaving value of placing defibrillators in schools, not only for the safety of students, but also parents, teachers, coaches and other adults who are present at schools and school events."

Medtronic LIFEPAK(R) AEDs are prescription devices. To receive a prescription, a physician must be consulted. AED users should be trained in CPR and the use of the AED.

For more information or to make a donation to the Keep the Beat campaign, please visit www.keepthebeat.org or www.jamestaylor.com.

About Medtronic Emergency Response Systems

Medtronic's Emergency Response Systems business, located in Redmond, Wash., pioneered external defibrillation technology 50 years ago. With more than 500,000 LIFEPAK defibrillators distributed worldwide, it is the world's leading provider of external defibrillators for the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest. To find out more about AEDs and the LIFEPAK Heart Safe Solutions program, go to www.aedhelp.com or call 1-888-351-LIFE.

About Medtronic

Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading medical technology company, providing lifeline solutions for people with chronic disease.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2004. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.