To "keep up with the growing challenges within the healthcare industry," Medtronic said it will combine its U.S. Cardiac and Vascular group sales functions to form a single, unified sales organization.

Combining the company's Cardiac and Vascular Group sales will take place May 1, and  David Roberts, the company’s former VP of sales for Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, will assume the role of VP of Cardiac and Vascular Group Sales.

“With the growing partnership between clinicians and administrators as they work together to address the changing healthcare environment, our strategy going forward is to leverage Medtronic’s breadth of talent, technologies, products and services across our 15 market segments to help hospital administrators address their unmet needs, while maintaining and strengthening our ability to serve clinicians and their patients,” said Michael Coyle, executive VP and group president of the Cardiac and Vascular Group of businesses at Medtronic.

Additionally, Minneapolis-based Medtronic has created a strategic account management team that will report to the sales organization in hopes to tackle the growing challenges faced by cardiac and vascular hospital administrators. The team will focus on a cross-business portfolio of products and services to hospital administrators.

Medtronic’s Cardiac and Vascular Group includes its Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, Structural Heart, Endovascular Innovations, Peripheral, Coronary, Renal Denervation, and Physio-Control businesses. However, Medtronic said that all of these businesses except Physio-Control, are included in the company’s new structure.