Prelims – Current events of National and International Importance | General Science.
Why in News?
Recently, Venkateshwara Hospital, Chennai, highlighted the successful implantation of a leadless pacemaker in an elderly patient.
- Need – Pacemaker eliminates the need for leads (wires) that connect to the heart, which reduces the risk of infection and complications associated with traditional pacemakers.
- It helps to reduce patient discomfort, infections, device complications, and dysfunction.
- It will benefit elderly patients who with multiple comorbidities, a higher risk of infection and bleeding.
- Leadless pacemaker – It is a modern, small device that provides electrical stimulation to the heart.
- It does not have wires or a large battery and doesn’t need a surgical pocket for its implantation.
- Size and shape – It are 3cm in length, shaped like a bullet, and is minuscule, compared to a conventional pacemaker, which has the size of a matchbox.
- Components – The battery and the electrical components are all located in this bullet-shaped capsule.
- Implantation – It is implanted directly into the heart through a vein in the leg using a catheter. There is no surgical pocket; the patient can be discharged the very next day.
- Advantages – It is easily removable and longer battery life, 16-17 years, compared to a conventional pacemaker.
- Limitations – It costs around 15 lakhs, three times more than conventional pacemakers; many patients may not be able to afford it.
- A total of 1,300 leadless pacemaker implantations has been performed in India since its introduction in 2018.
|
Conventional Pacemaker
|
- It has been used over the past decades in millions of patients.
- It consists of a battery or pulse generator and one or two long wires or leads, which are placed inside the chambers of the heart through a vein under the collarbone.
- The leads are connected to the battery, which is inserted inside a surgical pocket made by making a cut or incision under the skin below the collarbone.
- It can be associated with risks like bleeding, infection, and pus formation in the pocket.
- Longer healing periods and such complications may be higher in the elderly, frail, and diabetic patients.
|
Reference
The Indian Express| Leadless Pacemaker
