Woodland Heights Medical Center Offers Next Generation of the World’s Smallest Pacemakers, With 40% More Battery Life
7/14/2023
Lufkin, TX – Woodland Heights Medical Center announced it now offers the next generation in leadless pacemakers to patients in deep East Texas. It is the first facility in Lufkin to offer the new devices.
Comparable in size to a large vitamin, the new pacemakers are less than one-tenth the size of traditional pacemakers. With approximately 40% more battery life compared to previous generations, the new pacemakers are projected to last nearly 16 and 17 years, respectively.
Pacemakers are the most common way to treat slow or irregular heart rates (bradycardia) and atrioventricular (AV) block, in which the electrical signals between the chambers of the heart are impaired. By sending electrical impulses to the heart, pacemakers help to restore the heart’s normal rhythm and relieve symptoms.
“Staying on the leading edge of technology is important for the health of our patients and keeping them active as long as possible,” states electrophysiology/interventional cardiologist Dr. Vivek Mangla. “We are proud to continue to bring the latest technology to East Texas.”
These devices are implanted directly into the heart, so they do not require leads or a surgical “pocket” under the skin, thereby eliminating potential complications related to traditional pacemakers with leads and pockets. They are also the only leadless pacemakers that enable patients to benefit from remote monitoring capabilities, which allow a doctor or clinic to check on a patient’s heart device without the need for a patient to travel to their clinic for an in-person appointment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved the devices for low-field MRI scans, which can provide diagnostic imaging to patients who might otherwise be unable to take a standard MRI scan.
Patients should consult with their physician if they need a pacemaker and are interested in learning more about leadless pacemakers.
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Dr. Vivek Mangla, electrophysiology/interventional cardiology, the first in Lufkin to implant the new pacemaker, stands with members of the cardiac cath lab team who assisted him at Woodland Heights Medical Center.
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