(READ) FDA urgent alert on Heartware Ventricular Assist Device after 14 deaths

A dangerous medical device, an internal pump, is being pulled from the market by its maker, Medtronic.

That's according to a new announcement from the FDA. Although the Heartware Ventricular Assist Device device received FDA approval as "safe and effective," the agency now admits:

• There is an increased risk of neurological adverse events and mortality associated with the internal pump.
• There is a potential for the internal pump to stop. If the internal pump stops, it may delay restarting or fail to restart.
• Both problems may lead to death or serious injuries. 

Approximately 4,000 patients still have the potentially deadly implants; 2,000 in the U.S., according to the FDA.

According to Medtronic: There are "over 100 complaints involving a delay or failure to restart of the HVAD internal pump, which led to a total of 14 deaths and 13 pump removals."

Read the full FDA information at the link below:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/letters-health-care-providers/stop-new-implants-medtronic-hvad-system-letter-health-care-providers

Read the "urgent" letter to health care providers from Medtronic below:

https://www.medtronic.com/content/dam/medtronic-com/global/HCP/Documents/hvad-urgent-medical-device-notice-june-2021.pdf

Order "Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism" by Sharyl Attkisson today at Harper Collins, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, IndieBound, Bookshop!