UPDATE 3-Boston Sci device hits goal in heart failure trial

* Reduces death, intervention for early-stage patients

* More than 1,800 patients in the study

* Could expand market for CRT-D devices

* Boston Sci shares rise 4.8 pct

* St Jude, Medtronic also up (Recasts, adds analyst comments, updates shares)

By Lewis Krauskopf and Debra Sherman

NEW YORK/CHICAGO, June 23 (Reuters) - Early intervention with Boston Scientific Corp's (BSX.N) implantable devices, called cardiac resynchronization therapy, can slow the progression of heart failure, according to closely watched preliminary study results released by the company on Tuesday.

The study could significantly expand the market for the devices, which coordinate heart pumping through electrical pulses, beyond the sickest heart failure patients.

Shares of Boston Scientific rose as high as $9.91 after results of the long-awaited clinical trial were released and were still up 44 cents or 4.8 percent at $9.68 in late-morning trade. Among rival heart-rhythm device makers, Medtronic Inc (MDT.N) was up 1.8 percent, and St. Jude Medical Inc (STJ.N) gained 4.4 percent.

Boston Scientific's MADIT-CRT study of more than 1,800 patients met its main goal, finding that the CRT devices when combined with a defibrillator cut the risk of death or heart failure interventions by 29 percent compared with defibrillators alone.

The company-sponsored trial looked at early-stage heart failure patients who already have defibrillators to see whether cardiac resynchronization therapy, or CRT, can slow the progression of the condition.

Nearly 22 million people worldwide, including 5.5 million Americans, suffer from heart failure. About 70 percent of all heart failure patients are in the early stage.

The study had been highly anticipated by Wall Street because a positive result could boost sales of more expensive defibrillators that also have the CRT feature.

Spencer Nam, an analyst at Summer Street Research, said the market generally had expected positive results, but the 29 percent reduction was surprisingly strong.

The results could lead the more than $12 billion market for defibrillators and pacemakers to improve from high-single-digit growth to at least 10 percent growth, Nam said.

"I don't know if this is going to send this whole space to the next level of growth yet, but this was one of the catalysts that the industry was looking for to generate more adoption," Nam said.