Why didn't Medtronic recall sooner?

Big cardiac clinics across the country stopped using Medtronic's Fidelis defibrillator lead in early February because they considered it unsafe. So why did the company wait till October to recall it? And why did it blame doctors' technique for some of the malfunctions?

Those are the questions the Wall Street Journal poses today in a piece that not only questions Medtronic's actions, but also the FDA's system for regulating medical devices, which aren't subject to the stringent testing prescription drugs undergo before hitting the market.

- read the article in the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

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