Evaluating Medtronic’s Cardiac and Vascular Devices Segment

Medtronic’s Cardiac and Vascular Group is its leading segment of medical devices and is growing at a fast pace. The segment is broken into the following three divisions:

• The CRHF (Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure) division
• The CSH (Coronary and Structural Heart)
• The APV (Aortic and Peripheral Vascular) division

Major competitors of Medtronic (MDT) in the cardiac and vascular segment include the following companies:

• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
• Edward Lifesciences Corporation (EW)

Medtronic’s Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure, or CRHF, division manufactures and sells devices for the management of heart rhythm disorders and heart failures. Some of this division’s key products and services include:

• the Reveal LINQ insertable cardiac monitor, the smallest heart monitor on the market, which can detect and record abnormal heart beats
• the Arctic Front Advance Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter (Arctic Front) system, which provides treatment to patients with atrial fibrillation, or abnormal heart rhythm
• the Viva XT cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator, which preserves normal heart rhythms and automatically adjusts to patients’ needs to customize therapy
• the Evera MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) SureScan ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), which is the world’s first full-body ICD or device that can keep track of the heart rate
• its CLMS (Cardiocom and Cath-Lab Managed Services) business, which provides services related to hospital operational efficiency directly to hospitals

Medtronic’s CSH (Coronary and Structural Heart) division provides therapies for the treatment of coronary artery disease and heart valve disorders. Some of this division’s key products include:

• the CoreValve transcatheter aortic heart valve, a less invasive technology for treating heart valve disease that eliminates the need to open the chest
• the CoreValve Evolute R recapturable system, a repositionable heart valve that improves positioning accuracy and control during deployment
• the Resolute Onyx drug-eluting stent, which is used during the minimally invasive, catheter-based procedure known as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, an alternative to open heart surgery that treats narrowed coronary arteries restricting blood flow to the heart

Medtronic’s APV (Aortic and Peripheral Vascular) division, which includes a portion of the Covidien’s Peripheral business, consists of a comprehensive line of products and therapies designed to treat aortic diseases as well as PVDs (peripheral vascular diseases). Some of the division’s major products include:

• PACT Admiral drug-coated balloons, which are designed to treat patients with PAD (peripheral artery disease) suffering from blockages in the upper leg
• the Valiant Captivia Thoracic Stent Graft System, which is used to treat vessel damage caused by disease or trauma
• the Endurant 2S AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) Stent Graft System, which uses a minimally invasive procedure to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms, or the swelling of the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body

Investors can gain exposure to Medtronic by investing in the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH), which has 3.7% of its total holdings in the company.

Continue to the next part of this series for a look at Medtronic’s Restorative Therapies Group segment.