Over a quarter of a million Canadians need a pacemaker to keep their hearts beating properly.
A handful of heart patients are trying a new, tiny version of the lifesaving device. The technology was developed in Calgary.
A pacemaker delivers a small amount of electricity to the heart causing it to beat and it’s been regulating heartbeats since the 1950’s.
Scientists are constantly trying to improve it and some of that work is happening at the University of Calgary. Dr. Derek Exner is a researcher at the Cumming School of Medicine and is helping to create a “leadless” pacemaker.
It’s about the size of a pen lid and has no leads or wires that need to be inserted into the heart.
Exner says, “Normal pacemakers have problems with where they're put, which is usually in the shoulder area, related to bleeding and things like that and some people have pain.”
The leadless pacemaker is inserted directly into the heart, guided by x-rays through a small incision in the groin. It’s far less invasive, which means a quicker recovery time for patients. The device is also exceeding expectations.
“We expected the battery to last about 10 years and it looks like it's going to last about 15 years,” says Exner. “This is about twice as long as a normal pacemaker which is pretty impressive given how small the little guy is.”
There were no infections in the 600 patients involved in the study and none of the leadless pacemakers malfunctioned. Don Ieo is a patient and says, “The fact I was lucky enough to be a candidate and be a part of this study is just amazing.”
Twenty eight Calgarians have received the new pacemaker as part of the study. The device still has to be approved by Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration.
(With files from Bridget Brown)
