SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Brower Piven Encourages Investors Who Have Losses in Excess of $100,000 From Investment in Thoratec Corporation to Contact Brower Piven Before the March 25, 2014 Lead Plaintiff Deadline -- THOR

STEVENSON, Md., March 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of Thoratec Corporation ("Thoratec" or the "Company") THOR securities during the period between April 29, 2010 and November 27, 2013, inclusive (the "Class Period").

If you have suffered a net loss from investment in Thoratec Corporation securities purchased on or after April 29, 2010 and held through the revelation of negative information on November 27, 2013, as described below, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff, at no cost to you, by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com, by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 60 years.

No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than March 25, 2014 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in Company units during the Class Period.

The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the defendants' failure to disclose during the Class Period that its HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist Device held significant risk of pump thrombosis, causing numerous fatalities. According to the complaint, following an April 4, 2012 recall issued on the Company's HeartMate II heart pumps over concern for a potentially deadly defect and the November 27, 2013 release of a study in The New England Journal of Medicine that the rate of pump thrombosis related to the use of the HeartMate II has been increasing and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, the value of Thoratec shares declined significantly.

If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.