POSSIS MEDICAL ANGIOJET(R) SYSTEM RESULTS FOR HEART ATTACK TREATMENT IN JAPAN

           Published in the American Journal of Cardiology 

Study Shows that the AngioJet System can be Used Safely and Successfully

to Remove Blood Clots from Heart Attack Victims

MINNEAPOLIS, April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Possis Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: POSS) announced today publication of results of the Japanese Coronary AngioJet(R) Rheolytic(TM) Thrombectomy System clinical trial, in which patients were treated with the AngioJet System for removal of blood clots associated with heart attack. The report concludes: "The AngioJet can be used safely and successfully to remove thrombus from the native coronary artery of patients with myocardial infarction."

The trial results were presented by Dr. Yoshihisa Nakagawa and Professor Masakiyo Nobuyoshi of Kokura Memorial Hospital at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society in March, and were published in the April 1999 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

The trial reported procedure success, including full restoration of blood flow, in all 29 patients who received planned AngioJet treatment for severe acute heart attacks in native coronary blood vessels. Subsequent angioplasty and/or stenting was performed to treat arterial stenosis uncovered by AngioJet thrombectomy. No major complications were reported out to three to six months of follow-up. Angiograms performed at that time showed that full blood flow was present in all patients treated.

These results, together with similar results obtained on 32 additional patients at Toho University, will be submitted this year to the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare in support of approval for marketing the AngioJet System in Japan for coronary use.

Mr. Robert G. Dutcher, President and CEO of Possis Medical, Inc. stated, "These results mirror those reported by U.S. physicians in our major coronary clinical trial in the United States, the VeGAS trial. The Japanese clinical results further demonstrate that the AngioJet System is a safe and effective way to remove intracoronary thrombus. We are pleased with the increasing scientific evidence documenting favorable AngioJet System performance and encouraged by the growing interest and use of the AngioJet System following the March PMA approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the AngioJet System in the United States for coronary use."

Possis Medical, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets pioneering medical devices for the large and growing cardiovascular and vascular treatment markets. Its primary product, the AngioJet(R) Rheolytic(TM) Thrombectomy System, is marketed in the United States for blood clot removal from dialysis access grafts and coronary arteries and coronary bypass grafts. The Company's three U.S. FDA-approved products -- the AngioJet(R) System, the Perma-Flow(R) Coronary Bypass Graft, and the Perma-Seal(R) Dialysis Access Graft -- are highly differentiated, next-generation medical devices that have the potential to become preferred treatments.

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results to be
materially different. Factors that could impact the Company's future
results are set forth in the cautionary statements included in Exhibit
99 to the Company's Form 10-Q dated April 30, 1998, filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Possis Medical, Inc.

-0-                             4/8/99 /CONTACT:  Robert G. Dutcher, 
Possis Medical, Inc., 612-780-4555/ 

(POSS)
CO: Possis Medical, Inc. ST: Minnesota IN: MTC SU: