ResMed Announces Partnership with National Stroke Association.

SAN DIEGO, May 15 /PRNewswire/ --

ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD) announced that it has entered into a partnership with the National Stroke Association (NSA, Englewood, CO) to promote awareness of the high prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in stroke patients. Stroke is the number one cause of disability and the number three cause of death in the US, costing the community billions of healthcare dollars annually. The initiative will include joint development of educational tools directed to both patients and health care professionals. The program will be launched by an article on Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) to be featured in NSA's "Be Stroke Smart" Newsletter and collaboration on brochures such as "Post-Stroke Sleep Disorders," targeted for publication this quarter. The NSA is also developing a ResMed sponsored page on its web site devoted to SDB. Various symposia and conferences are in the planning stages.

There are over 4 million stroke patients in the U.S. alone, and an incidence of 1 million each year (including 300,000 mini-strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)). The incidence of SDB in stroke patients approaches 65%, a level 5 times that of age-matched control patients (Bassetti and Aldrich, Sleep 1999). SDB is also associated with worse functional outcomes after three and twelve months and higher mortality after one year following a stroke (Good, et al. Stroke 1996). SDB is associated with several known risk factors for primary and secondary stroke such as systemic and pulmonary hypertension (see below), atrial fibrillation, increased fibrinogen levels, and decreased cerebral blood flow. Based on preliminary studies, treatment of SDB in stroke patients using autotitrating nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is expected to improve outcomes and quality of life.

This partnership is an important step in reducing the incidence and impact of stroke according to NSA. "National Stroke Association is committed to increasing public awareness about stroke and life-saving measures, as well as improving the outcomes of 4 million survivors living with the effects of stroke," said Patti Shwayder, NSA Executive Director/CEO. "This relationship will allow NSA to provide much needed information and education about SDB to the public and medical professionals."

National Stroke Association is a leading independent national nonprofit organization devoting 100% of its resources and efforts to stroke -- including prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and support for stroke survivors and their families. For more information on stroke, contact National Stroke Association at 1-800-STROKES (1-800-787-6537) or visit www.stroke.org on the Internet.

In a related development, last Thursday, the New England Journal of Medicine published results of an eight-year study on 709 people showing that even mild to moderate levels of SDB produced a substantial risk of hypertension; and the more severe the SDB, the greater the likelihood of developing hypertension. As stated above, hypertension is inexorably linked to consequent increased risk of stroke and also to heart disease. Dr. Paul Peppard and the other members of the study found that people with mild to moderate sleep apnea were twice as likely to become hypertensive and people with moderate to severe sleep apnea were almost three times as likely to become hypertensive. This landmark study highlights the increased need for treatment of SDB in the general population, where less than 10% of those affected in the U.S. have been diagnosed or treated.

ResMed is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of medical equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing, selling a comprehensive range of products in over 50 countries. In 1999, ResMed was named by FORTUNE magazine as one of America's One Hundred Fastest Growing Companies; was listed as one of Business Week's Hundred Hot Growth Companies; and was ranked #27 on Forbes 21st annual list of the 200 Best Small Companies, up from #63 in 1998 and #172 in 1997.

Further information on ResMed can be obtained by contacting Walter Flicker, Corporate Secretary, at (858) 689-2400 ext. 211; by calling the Company's shareholder information line at (888) RESMED1/(888) 737-6331; or by visiting the Company's homepage at www.resmed.com.

Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking" statements as contemplated by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward looking statements.