Surgeons Pacing Ahead

PATIENTS suffering slow heart rhythm in Essex are set to benefit after local surgeons implanted a new and innovative pacemaker.

Staff based at the world-renowned Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC), part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, carried out the country’s first procedure to place Abbott’s Aveir VR leadless pacemaker into a patient’s heart that suffers from a slower-than-normal rate.

A leadless pacemaker is smaller than other pacemakers and does not have electrical leads that would sit in the veins around the heart, helping to reduce the risk of lead fractures, pacemaker pocket infections, and vascular complications.

Explaining the benefits for patients, Dr Duncan Field, Cardiology Consultant at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The innovations of the new device allow us to provide pacemakers to more patients, such as those who have renal dialysis, or sicker patients where there is no vascular access from the chest to the heart.

“Staff work hard to achieve the best results for our patients. Knowing that they can be involved in this exciting new technology motivates all our team to keep learning and developing, while our patients will be able to benefit from new technologies.”

The pacemaker is implanted directly inside the heart’s lower-right chamber via a minimally invasive procedure, which avoids having a more visible incision in the chest from traditional pacemakers.

When it reaches the heart, it maps out the area, meaning it can avoid having to be repositioned. It has more than double the battery capacity of current leadless pacemakers and so lasts longer.

It is also specifically designed to be retrieved in case their therapy needs evolve or the device needs to be replaced.

Udaye Teelockchand, a former nurse from Southend, was the first patient in the UK to receive the new pacemaker and said: “It was a great experience and a privilege for me to be the first patient to have the new pacemaker fitted on my heart.

“The doctors, nurses, and other staff were excellent, and they went above and beyond to make the procedure successful. I am feeling well and hoping to see further improvements soon.”

Ross Campbell, Abbott’s General Manager, Cardiac Rhythm Management for UK, Ireland and Germany, said: “It’s great to see our Aveir VR leadless pacemaker being used at Essex Cardiothoracic Centre. It has been designed to make the implantation and retrieval processes as seamless as possible for physicians and provide improvements over existing options, which will allow people to worry less about their condition.

“Our goal is to develop technologies that enable people to live the best lives they can, and we will continue to build on the success of Aveir to provide more first-of-their-kind products like this in the future, to revolutionise how abnormal heart rhythms are treated.”

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