If a person is diagnosed with a heartbeat that’s too slow or too fast, their cardiologist may recommend a pacemaker to send electrical impulses to the heart to control its rhythm. A traditional pacemaker is often surgically implanted under the skin near the collarbone and connected to the heart through wires (or leads) that transmit the electrical signals to the heart. Physicians and staff from Capital Health Heart and Vascular Institute recently performed a minimally invasive leadless pacemaker implant at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey that doesn’t need cardiac leads to deliver therapy and represents the latest advance in cardiac arrhythmia therapy.
Leadless pacemakers are appropriate for certain patients with significant bradycardia (slow heartbeat) or chronic atrial fibrillation (heart arrhythmia that causes the heart’s top chambers to quiver and beat irregularly). Through a minimally invasive procedure, Dr. Scott Burke, medical director of Cardiac Electrophysiology and a board certified, fellowship trained cardiac electrophysiologist at Capital Health Cardiology Specialists, inserts a catheter into a patient’s leg to guide the Aveir VR LP leadless pacemaker through a vein and implant it directly into the heart’s right ventricle.
“This next-generation leadless pacemaker from Abbott packs many innovations into a one-piece device that is smaller than a AAA battery,” said Dr. Burke. “It is the world’s only leadless pacemaker specifically designed to be easily retrieved when the device needs to be replaced or if a patient’s therapy needs to be changed. Other benefits include a battery life that is up to two times longer than existing leadless options and a unique mapping capability that allows us to precisely determine the correct placement of the device before final attachment in the heart.”
Capital Health’s Cardiac Electrophysiology team, with experts from Capital Health Cardiology Specialists, performs procedures like leadless pacemaker implants to manage and treat patients with conditions that involve abnormal electrical behavior of the heart. To make an appointment at Capital Health Cardiology Specialists, or to find an office near you, visit capitalhealthcardiology.org.
Capital Health Heart and Vascular Institute offers comprehensive care with a multi-specialty approach highlighted by the most up-to-date techniques and treatment options. With multiple locations throughout the greater Mercer and Bucks county region, the Institute features the most sophisticated technology guided by highly trained clinical experts in medical fields such as cardiac surgery, general and interventional cardiology, nephrology, podiatry, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, and wound management and hyperbaric medicine. For more information, visit www.capitalheartandvascular.org.