Volusia County, FL - Florida Hospital Medical Memorial Center (FHMMC) in Daytona Beach and Florida Hospital New Smyrna are now offering bradycardia patients with slow or irregular heartbeats the world's smallest pacemaker.
At one-tenth of the size of a normal pacemaker, the Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) is the most advanced technology available for pacing.
"Patients with bradycardia have a slow or irregular heart rhythm, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute. At this rate, the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise, causing dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells,” says the cardiovascular administrator for the Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler Counties, Tim Farley (seen below). “Pacemakers are the most common way to treat bradycardia. This device helps restore the heart's normal rhythm and relieves symptoms by sending electrical impulses to the heart to increase the heart rate as needed.”
The pacemaker is the size of a large vitamin and is small enough to be put into place by a catheter to the heart. It does not require the traditional "pocket" underneath the skin or cardiac wires or leads.
“This new implant gives patients a cosmetically invisible and safe alternative to conventional pacemakers, all without the complications associated with the wires or leads,” says Farley. “In addition, this pacemaker is designed to automatically adjust pacing therapy based on a patient’s individual activity levels.”
The first TPS procedure performed at FHMMC was on May 2 by Dr. Hanscy Seide and Dr. Huijian James Wang, both Electrophysiologists. The first TPS procedure at Florida Hospital New Smyrna was on June 23 by Cardiologist, Dr. Surya Rao.
This pacemaker is approved for 1.5 and 3 Tesla (T) MRI scans for the whole body, the first of its kind and the only currently available. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April of last year, this pacemaker is available to a large number of patients as it was given Medicare reimbursement.
Photos courtesy of Florida Hospital.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
