subject: Wireless Pacemakers Help Patients With Arrhythmia [print this page] One of the challenges facing the medical profession is the monitoring and treatment of arrhythmiaa condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythm. Wake Forest Baptist is a national leader in the treatment of complex cardiac problems. One area of specialization is cardiac electrophysiology, which is the study of electrical activity in the heart. At Wake Forest Baptist, cardiothoracic surgeons collaborate to teat atrial fibrillation.
One goal is to use the latest technology to provide patients who are suffering from arrhythmia with the highest level of careeven if the patient lives in a remote area. One of these patients was 82-year-old Floyd Edminston who thought he was going to pass out due to a low heart rate. When he arrived at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, his heartbeat was 23 beats a minute.
Rick Henderson, MD implanted Edminston with a wireless pacemaker. Dr. Edminston is a cardiac electrophysiologist at Wake Forest Baptist. He specializes in the performance of electrical activities in the heart. With the wireless pacemaker successfully implanted, doctors and support staff can detect problems sooner and may protect the patient from a possible stroke or heart attack.
The wireless device is set to report back to us any abnormalities, Henderson said. For example, if a patient is having regular heart rhythm, but is having atrial fibrillation every now and then, the device will pick it up sooner and send the information through a transmitter to the device clinic.
The wireless pacemaker can be especially important for heart and arrhythmia patients who are not near a medical center. For example, Floyd Edminston lives an hour from Wake Forest Baptist. Edminstons heart information is sent to the cardiologists for monitoring through his wireless pacemaker.
It sends information and you dont have to do a thing, Edminston said.Pacemakers are designed to send electrical impulses to the heart and are especially important for patients who are dealing with arrhythmia.
In the future, its likely that the use of wireless pacemakers will increase significantly and even include leadless devices. These devices do not enter the vascular system.
For additional information about the wireless pacemakers, contact us here .
