tiny medical gadget which is 93 percent smaller compared to traditional pacemakers and aids in Bradycardia, which is a cardiac rhythm disorder characterized by a slow or irregular heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute, where normal heart rate is 60–100 bpm. During typical activity or exercise, the heart is incapable of pumping enough oxygen-rich blood to the body at this low rate, resulting in dizziness, exhaustion, breathlessness, or fainting spells.
Atrioventricular block or AV block is a heart block condition where the electrical signals between the heart’s chambers that includes the atria and ventricles are disrupted. Pacemakers are the most popular treatment for bradycardia and AV block, and they deliver electrical impulses to the heart to boost the heart rate, which aids in recovering the heart’s normal rhythm and reduces symptoms.
Patients with AV block are currently treated with traditional dual-chamber pacemakers, which are placed in the upper chest, below the skin under the collar bone, and linked to the heart through thin wires known as leads. The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System is similar to the size and shape of the traditional pacemaker. Micra AV is a pacemaker that is linked to the heart through little tines and sends electrical impulses to the heart through an electrode at the device’s end. The Micra AV contains numerous additional inbuilt atrial sensing algorithms that detect cardiac activity, allowing the device to change pacing in the ventricle to coincide with the atrium, which enables patients with AV block to receive AV synchronous pacing treatment.
Abhishek Bhargava, director, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Cardiac Ablation, Diagnostics at Medtronic India, spoke about the latest pacemaker. He said, “Medtronic is known to invent, innovate and disrupt – whether it was the first battery powered pacemaker in 1957 or the latest Micra AV pacemaker. Now with Micra AV, patients suffering from complete heart block have the option for a leadless device that is delivered through a minimally invasive procedure and is cosmetically invisible to the patient”. We remain firmly committed to introducing innovations that alleviate pain, restore health and extend the lives of patients in India.”
According to the statement, Micra AV was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration – USFDA based on results from the MARVEL 2 (Micra Atrial Tracking Using A Ventricular Accelerometer) research, which assessed the safety and efficacy of accelerometer-based atrial sensing algorithms.
