Medtronic shares gain after U.S. FDA approves system for heart conditions

Investing.com -- Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) shares rose on Thursday, buoyed by news that the medical device maker's system for treating conditions causing stroke or heart failure had become the first of its kind to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA also gave the system a "breakthrough" designation, a label that aims to give patients more timely access to critical and potentially life-saving treatment options.

The designation will particularly help PulseSelect "secure favorable reimbursement terms" from administrators of the Medicare and Medicaid health coverage plans in the coming months, analysts at TD Cowen said in a note to clients.

Known as PulseSelect Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA), the technology is used to treat atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes an abnormal cardiac rhythm that has been likened to a heart flutter.

According to The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, PFA is a procedure that addresses atrial fibrillation through small burns or freezes that create some scarring on the inside of the heart that helps break up the electrical signals which cause irregular heartbeats.