On November 18, 2010, St. Jude Medical welcomed AGA Medical Corporation and the AMPLATZER® line of products to its Cardiovascular Division. Designed for the treatment of structural heart defects and vascular abnormalities, AMPLATZER occlusion devices have become the standard of care for treating patients facing structural heart defects.

AGA Medical was founded in 1995 by Dr. Kurt Amplatz, a world-renowned University of Minnesota Radiology professor and researcher. Leveraging his expertise and unique understanding of the requirements for catheter-delivered treatment, Dr. Amplatz invented his first structural heart device (AMPLATZER® Septal Occluder) to treat an atrial septal defect, a hole between the left and right atrium in the heart’s upper chambers.

His innovation eventually changed the standard of care for the treatment of this condition, which is one of the most commonly diagnosed and treated structural heart defects. In fact, before Dr. Amplatz’s invention, most people diagnosed with an atrial septal defect faced the prospect of open heart surgery to correct the problem. Building on the success of the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder and under the direction of Dr. Amplatz, the corporation developed occluders to treat other structural heart defects as well as a line of vascular plugs used to treat abnormal blood vessels.

St. Jude Medical is proud to continue the legacy of Dr. Amplatz. He will continue to be a key contributor to the AMPLATZER research and development program, ensuring that the important work of creating world-class, clinically superior medical devices remains unchanged.

The addition of AGA Medical makes St. Jude Medical the only company with programs across all major structural heart categories, including congenital heart defects, left atrial appendage occlusion, transcatheter aortic valve implantation and percutaneous mitral valve repair, as well as expanding our product portfolio for interventional radiology.