DFIB Cardiac Science (MM)

Airgas Safety to Market Cardiac Science AEDs and Training Services to Industrial Workplace Segment Partnership Expands Reach Into Fastest Growing Segment of U.S. AED market IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cardiac Science, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFIB), a leading manufacturer of life-saving automatic public access defibrillators (AEDs), today announced it entered into a distribution partnership with Airgas Safety, a division of Airgas, Inc (NYSE:ARG), the largest safety products distributor in the U.S. Under the agreement, Cardiac Science Powerheart(R) AEDs and AED/CPR training and program management services will be marketed to Airgas Safety's industrial workplace and other customers. Airgas is the nation's largest distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases and welding equipment boasting a network of approximately 800 domestic locations and a 1,000-person sales team of which 120 are dedicated to the safety market. The agreement calls for the sales organizations of both companies to jointly market Cardiac Science products and services to new and existing Airgas customers. Raymond W. Cohen, Chairman and CEO of Cardiac Science said, "Airgas is a well respected company with a significant presence and excellent customer relationships in the corporate workplace safety market. This distribution agreement is part of our marketing strategy to further strengthen our leadership position in the U.S. workplace market. We believe that Cardiac Science has a competitive advantage in this segment based on our product and service offering and superior customer base. In order to gain further leverage, we will continue to align ourselves with powerful strategic distribution partners who can facilitate access to large corporations interested in deploying a workplace defibrillation program." Cohen added, "The Airgas Safety sales team is well positioned to promote and offer our AEDs and workplace defibrillation programs to its customers. We believe the joint effort of Cardiac Science representatives working together with Airgas representatives at the point of sale will not only mitigate channel conflict but more importantly allow our AED experts to be on hand to facilitate the selection of Powerheart(R) AEDs and our AED Program Management Services by the customer. In all, we see this as an enlightened approach, which we believe will optimize the potential for both companies to generate meaningful revenue from the Airgas customer base." About Airgas Inc. Airgas, Inc. is the largest distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases and welding equipment and one of the largest distributors of safety supplies in the United States. Its integrated network of about 800 locations includes branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers. Airgas also distributes its products and services through eBusiness, catalog and telesales channels. Its national scale and strong local presence offer a competitive edge to its diversified customer base. For more information on Airgas, please visit http://www.airgas.com/. About Cardiac Science Cardiac Science develops, manufactures and markets Powerheart(R)-brand public-access defibrillators (AEDs) and offers comprehensive AED/CPR training and AED program management services that facilitate successful deployments. Cardiac Science also manufactures its AED products on a private label basis for other leading medical companies such as Nihon Kohden (Japan), Quinton Cardiology Systems and GE Healthcare. For more information, please visit http://www.cardiacscience.com/. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the Company's "competitive advantage" in the workplace AED market and the achievement of sales to the Airgas customer base and any future and "meaningful" revenue based on the Distribution Agreement with Airgas. Cardiac Science cautions that these statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties and are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements and should not be relied upon by investors when making an investment decision. Information on other factors is detailed in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2003, subsequent quarterly filings, and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For further information, please contact: Investors, Matt Clawson, , or Media, Len Hall, , both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for Cardiac Science, Inc.; or Michael Gioffredi, Chief Marketing Officer of Cardiac Science, Inc., +1-949-797-3800, . DATASOURCE: Cardiac Science, Inc. CONTACT: Investors, Matt Clawson, , or Media, Len Hall, , both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for Cardiac Science, Inc.; or Michael Gioffredi, Chief Marketing Officer of Cardiac Science, Inc., +1-949-797-3800, Web site: http://www.airgas.com/ Web site: http://www.cardiacscience.com/

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