ATS Medical Announces Formation of Cryoablation Surgical Advisory Board

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ATS Medical, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery
products and services, today reported the formation of the ATS Medical
Cryoablation Surgical Advisory Board.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040202/ATSILOGO)

This new Cryoablation Surgical Advisory Board reinforces ATS Medical’s
growing leadership position in surgical ablation. The board is comprised of
prominent advocates of the surgical treatment of cardiac arrhythmias,
including James L. Cox, MD, ATS Medical Director and creator of the Maze
procedure; Niv Ad, MD, Inova Heart and Vascular Institute, Fairfax, VA; Steven
F. Bolling, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Eva E. Berglin, MD,
Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden; W. Randolph Chitwood, Jr.,
MD, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC; Ralph J. Damiano, MD, Washington
University, St. Louis, MO; James S. Gammie, MD, University of Maryland,
Baltimore, MD; A. Marc Gillinov, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; and

Friedrich W. Mohr, MD, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. The goal of
the Cryoablation Surgical Advisory Board is to lend surgeon advocacy and
direction to ATS Medical’s position and strategy in the surgical ablation
market. Additionally, the board is dedicated to ensuring that simplified
techniques for performing surgical ablation do not compromise the clinical
efficacy of the gold-standard surgical Maze procedure established by Dr. Cox
in the mid-1980s.

“Other ablation companies have altered the Maze procedure to meet the
limitations of their energy source. Using the ATS CryoMaze(TM) Cryoablation
System, which can perform all the lesions of the original Maze-III procedure,
ATS intends to preserve the original clinical results of that procedure while
simplifying the access and adoptability. This advisory board represents the
ablation experts who can provide ATS direction, train other surgeons to repeat
the procedure and obtain optimal clinical results,” commented Dr. Cox.

About ATS Medical

ATS Medical, Inc. is dedicated to ‘Advancing The Standards’ of cardiac
surgery through the development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative
products and services for the treatment of structural heart disease. ATS
Medical serves the cardiac surgery community by focusing on two distinct but
operationally synergistic market segments: heart valve disease therapy and
surgical ablation of cardiac arrhythmias.

ATS was originally founded to develop the ATS Open Pivot(R) Heart Valve as
a new mechanical heart valve standard of care. Today the Open Pivot heart
valve is the preferred mechanical heart valve in many markets around the world
and the fastest growing mechanical prosthesis in the market. Building on this
legacy and addressing the largest market segment in heart valve therapy, the
ATS 3f(R) brand encompasses an innovative tissue heart valve portfolio to
address conventional open surgery requirements as well as the growing demand
for less invasive sutureless based procedures. The ATS 3f(R) portfolio
includes offerings at various stages including early product development,
pivotal clinical trials, and market commercialization. Completing the
portfolio in heart valve therapy is the ATS Simulus(R) annuloplasty product
line. Simulus products assist the surgeon in repairing a patient’s native
heart valve as an alternative to replacement. Continuing ATS Medical’s focus
on serving the cardiac surgery community are the ATS CryoMaze(TM) products for
surgical cryoablation of cardiac arrhythmias. ATS CryoMaze(TM) products are
used by surgeons to treat patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmias, the
largest and fastest growing form of structural heart disease in populations
over 60 years of age. The ATS Medical web site is http://www.atsmedical.com.

Safe Harbor

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that may include
statements regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and
its management. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in
the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of important factors,
including the results of clinical trials, the timing of regulatory approvals,
the integration of 3f Therapeutics and the surgical cryoablation business of
CryoCath Technologies, Inc., regulatory actions, competition, pricing
pressures, supplier actions and management of growth. For a discussion of
these and other risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company’s
activities and results, please refer to the Company’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2007 and its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

SOURCE ATS Medical, Inc.