Edwards Lifesciences Celebrates One Million Heart Valve Patients and More at...( IRVINE Calif. May 8 /- Edwards Li...)

IRVINE, Calif., May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the world leader in the science of heart valves, announced that the company will celebrate a number of cardiac surgery milestones and product debuts at the 88th annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), May 10-14 in San Diego.

Among the milestones marked by Edwards -- which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary of partnering with clinicians to develop life-saving innovations -- are:

-- The treatment of more than 1 million patients worldwide with Edwards'

heart valve repair and replacement technologies.

-- The implantation of the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter aortic heart valve

in more than 1,000 patients worldwide through a series of extensive

clinical trials and feasibility studies in Europe, the U.S. and Canada,

as well as commercial sales in Europe.

-- The start of patient enrollment for transcatheter aortic valve

replacement procedures with the Ascendra transapical delivery system at

participating sites in Edwards' U.S. pivotal trial of the Edwards

SAPIEN valve. Edwards has conditional approval from the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration to perform procedures with both the Ascendra

transapical delivery system and the RetroFlex transfemoral delivery

system at the PARTNER trial sites.

-- Regulatory and reimbursement approval received this week from the

Japanese Ministry of Health for the Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT Magna

pericardial aortic heart valve. As the first and only device of its

kind, this valve combines more than 20 years of clinical experience and
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