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Heart starter: Study hails tiny wireless pacemaker, implanted without surgery

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A Medtronic Micra pacemaker next to a US nickel. Photo: Medtronic/AP

Researchers are reporting encouraging results for a new generation of pacemakers — miniature, wireless ones that can be implanted through a leg vein without surgery.

In a study of 725 patients, one of these devices, made by Medtronic, was successfully implanted 99 per cent of the time, with a low rate of complications compared to traditional pacemakers.

Leaders of the company-sponsored study discussed the research Monday at an American Heart Association conference in Orlando. Results also were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Two months ago, the journal published a study of a similar device made by St Jude Medical. Both of these mini pacemakers are already sold in Europe and the companies are seeking federal Food and Drug Administration approval to sell them in the US.

The Medtronic Micra pacemaker, right, next to a conventional pacemaker. Photo: Medtronic via AP
The Medtronic Micra pacemaker, right, next to a conventional pacemaker. Photo: Medtronic via AP

Roughly 200,000 people in the US each year get a pacemaker, a device to regulate their heartbeats. Pacemakers are implanted just under the skin in the chest, with wires called leads that go into the heart. The wires can break, wear out or become infected and are the main weakness of these pacing systems.

The mini pacemaker is the size of a large pill and can be placed without surgery, through a tube into a blood vessel in the groin, and attached to the right side of the heart.

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