THE ADVISORY: The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that patients who have implanted heart devices that include certain wires made by St. Jude Medical Inc. should have a scan to check on the state of the wires.

THE WHY: The FDA recommended the scans for patients with Riata or Riata ST wires. St. Jude stopped selling those wires in 2010 because in some cases, the insulation of the wires was eroded, raising the risk of malfunctions.

STUDIES: St. Jude was also ordered to collect data on patients whose devices include Riata, QuickFlex, QuickSite, Optim and Durata wires.