Leadless Cardiac Pacemaker Technology

Pacemakers monitor your heart and provide electrical stimulation to manage slow or irregular heartbeats. A conventional pacemaker requires traditional surgery to place the device in your chest, along with insulated wires (leads) between the device and your heart. This requires a large incision and a visible lump where the device is implanted in your chest.

Leadless cardiac pacemakers are:

• Much smaller (only a tenth the size).
• Only require a small incision.
• Placed directly in your heart (no lump).

To implant the device, doctors make a small incision in your upper leg and thread a catheter (small, flexible tube) up through a blood vessel and into your heart. The device is fully retrievable, so it can be repositioned during the implant procedure and removed later if necessary.

Benefits Over Traditional Pacemakers

Leadless pacemakers:

• Don’t cause a visible lump or scar on your chest, since they’re implanted inside your heart.
• Don’t have complications that occur with conventional devices, such problems with the leads or infection at the surgical site.
• Are more comfortable and allow full movement of your arms after the procedure, which isn’t possible after conventional device implantation.
• Require a minimally invasive procedure, which offers a quicker recovery.
• Have a longer-lasting battery — 12 to 20 years.

Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute at St. Elizabeth was the first facility in Greater Cincinnati to offer these advanced cardiac pacemaker technologies:

• Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) – The world’s smallest pacemaker — the size of a large vitamin — automatically adjusts pacing therapy to each person’s activity levels. The device is also safe for MRI scans, unlike many pacemakers. We were the first hospital in Kentucky to offer this technology, shortly after it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Nanostim™ Leadless Pacemaker – The first retrievable, nonsurgical pacemaker technology, currently offered only as part of a clinical trial.