FDA announces recall of heart pumps linked to deaths and injuries
CBSN
A pair of heart devices linked to hundreds of injuries and at least 14 deaths has received the FDA's most serious recall, the agency announced Monday.
The recall comes years after surgeons say they first noticed problems with the HeartMate II and HeartMate 3, manufactured by Thoratec Corp., a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories. The devices are not currently being removed from the market. Abbott did not respond to KFF Health News' requests for comment.
The delayed action raises questions for some safety advocates about how and when issues with approved medical devices should be reported. The heart devices in question have been associated with thousands of reports of patients' injuries and deaths, as described in a KFF Health News investigation late last year.
