NHS patients are being offered a revolutionary wireless pacemaker that reduces the risk of painful complications.
Traditional pacemakers use wires and a generator under the skin to keep the heart beating regularly, but the device can short out and the generator can become infected, so patients must undergo complex surgery to replace it.
Now, the innovative AVEIR DR has been hailed as a world first: a global trial (published in the New England Medical journal last year) found it has a 97 percent success rate in returning a patient’s heart rhythm to normal.
However, the main benefit of the device is that it completely eliminates side effects such as infections and bursa hematomas.
“Complications such as infections are common with normal pacemakers, which is why it is so exciting,” says Professor Tom Wong, who performed the first procedure.
The dual device opens up the possibility of effective treatment for a much larger number of the two million people in the UK who suffer from heart rhythm problems. (File photo)
Now, the innovative AVEIR DR has been hailed as a world first, with a global trial published in the New England Medical Journal last year.
“This is a great feat of engineering, where the risk is low and the device is very effective.”
A 2017 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that one in six patients with a traditional pacemaker suffers complications within three years.
The new pacemaker consists of two pill-like devices, each about the size of a AAA battery, that are implanted directly into the heart through a vein in the leg, rather than through the shoulder like traditional devices, speeding recovery time.
The “pills” are located in two chambers of the heart – the right atrium and the right ventricle – and communicate with each other while emitting electrical impulses to regulate the pulse.
Single wireless implants of this type have already been offered, but most heart problems affect both chambers, meaning only a limited number of patients were eligible. The dual device opens up the possibility of effective treatment for many more of the two million people in the UK with heart rhythm problems.
Earlier this month, Mohamed Benkahoul, 56, became the first person in the country to receive the device outside of a trial.
The father-of-two from London, who suffers from end-stage kidney disease and heart failure, became eligible after his regular pacemaker became infected and failed two years ago.
Without a working pacemaker, he suffered debilitating problems related to his failing heart, including swelling of his limbs, shortness of breath and weight gain.
Traditional pacemakers use wires and a generator under the skin to keep the heart beating regularly. (File photo)
The pacemaker’s availability on the NHS follows a successful rollout in the US and EU. (File photo)
The device is expected to allow him to become active again and lose enough weight to be eligible for a kidney transplant.
“I was very happy to be the first person to receive this pacemaker,” says Mohamed. “It is already helping me in everyday life, I can go out and socialise again.”
‘Doctors have also told me that I can now receive full dialysis treatment, which my heart could not handle before.’
The availability of the pacemaker on the NHS follows a successful roll-out in the US and EU.
In the coming months, the device will be rolled out at specialist hospitals including St Thomas’ Hospital in London and Basildon University Hospital in Essex. It will first be available to high-risk patients whose traditional pacemakers have failed.
“It’s a life-changing device and over time it may become commonplace for everyone, but there’s still a lot of research to be done on the long-term effects,” he says.
Professor Wong: “It’s still in its early stages.”