Marianne Long

During the 1970s, Marianne Long was a cardiac nurse, so she knows a thing or two about heart care. Now retired, 70-year-old Marianne can often be found playing tennis or golf — thanks to a revolutionary wireless pacemaker.

Before her wireless (or leadless) pacemaker was implanted, Marianne suffered from a heart condition called slow-progressing aortic stenosis. One of the most common and serious valve-disease problems, it narrows the heart’s aortic valve opening and cuts off normal blood flow.

“I was having trouble breathing and I felt tired and weak,” Marianne says. “I had to push myself to do things, even simple, everyday things.”

At her annual echocardiogram, Marianne discussed her symptoms with Dr. D.P. Suresh, her cardiologist with St. Elizabeth Physicians. After additional diagnostic testing, Dr. Suresh diagnosed Marianne with bradycardia, a heart rate that’s too slow to adequately pump blood throughout the body. He explained to Marianne that she needed a pacemaker, answered her questions, and referred her to Dr. Mohamad Sinno, a cardiac electrophysiologist with St. Elizabeth Physicians.

During the consultation, Dr. Sinno informed Marianne she was a candidate for a leadless pacemaker. Marianne had never heard of it. The doctor explained that a leadless pacemaker is the smallest heart-assist device in the world and its battery may last 12 to 20 years. Dr. Sinno also explained that the tiny pacemaker doesn’t have traditional insulated wires (called leads) and could be placed into Marianne’s heart without surgery, unlike conventional devices. This less-invasive approach usually results in faster recoveries and fewer complications.

This revolutionary option was available to Marianne because St. Elizabeth Healthcare is the first hospital in greater Cincinnati to offer this world-changing heart technology as part of a clinical research study conducted by the St. Elizabeth Clinical Research Institute.

After thinking it over and doing more research on her own, Marianne decided to take part in the clinical research study. Now fully recovered, Marianne says she was fortunate she qualified for the less-invasive pacemaker and is glad she took part in the study.

“Everyone was so caring, attentive and reassuring,” Marianne says. “I was also amazed at how far technology has come since my days as a cardiac nurse. What we used to offer, though advanced at the time, seems somewhat primitive now.”

Marianne continued, “Plus, my recovery time was so much faster; I was up and walking an hour after the procedure and was back on the tennis court in three short weeks.”