Leesburg Regional Medical Center has announced that it is one of the first hospitals in Florida, and the first in Central Florida, to offer the world’s smallest pacemaker for patients with bradycardia.
The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System is a new type of heart device approved for Medicare reimbursement that provides patients with the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker. The first procedure was performed by Dr. Hector L. Garcia on April 7.
Bradycardia is a condition characterized by 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. Pacemakers are the most common way to treat bradycardia to help restore the heart’s normal rhythm and relieve symptoms by sending electrical impulses to the heart to increase the heart rate.
Comparable in size to a large vitamin, physicians at LRMC have elected to use Medtronic’s Micra TPS because unlike traditional pacemakers, the device does not require cardiac wires (leads) or a surgical “pocket” under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy. Instead, the device is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart with small tines, providing a safe alternative to conventional pacemakers without the complications associated with leads – all while being cosmetically invisible. The Micra TPS is also designed to automatically adjust pacing therapy based on a patient’s activity levels.
“We believe this is the start of a new era in pacemakers,” said Garcia, a board-certified Interventional Cardiologist with Florida Cardiovascular Specialists and on the medical staff at Leesburg Regional Medical Center. “The absence of leads is one of the main advantages of the pacemaker. The elimination of the wires connecting the device to the heart makes for a less invasive procedure reducing risk of complications for the patient.”
The Micra TPS also incorporates a retrieval feature to enable retrieval of the device when possible; however, the device is designed to be left in the body. For patients who need more than one heart device, the miniaturized Micra TPS was designed with a unique feature that enables it to be permanently turned off so it can remain in the body and a new device can be implanted without risk of electrical interaction.
“The Heart Institute at Leesburg Regional Medical Center is at the forefront of providing the most innovative care for the treatment of heart arrhythmias and related conditions,” said Don Henderson, president and CEO of Central Florida Health, the parent organization of Leesburg Regional Medical Center. “The fact that we are one of the first hospitals in the state to implant the world’s smallest pacemaker reflects our commitment to providing the community with the latest cardiovascular breakthroughs.”
The Micra TPS is the first and only transcatheter pacing system to be approved for both 1.5 and 3 Tesla (T) full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and is designed to allow patients to be followed by their physicians and send data remotely via the Medtronic CareLink Network.
The Micra TPS was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2016 and has been granted Medicare reimbursement, allowing broad patient access to the novel pacing technology.
