Latest news with #pacemaker
The Independent
6 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
The tiny pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice that could revolutionise heart surgery
A pacemaker that's smaller than a grain of rice and can be injected into the heart through the skin, without the need for surgery, has been invented by scientists. Pacemakers use electric pulses to steady heartbeats and protect the organ against potentially fatal abnormal rhythms. The small device is typically about the size of a matchbox and weighs about 20 to 50g. It consists of a pulse generator, which has a battery and a tiny computer circuit, and one or more wires known as pacing leads, which attach to your heart. But at just 1.8mm wide, 3.5mm long and 1mm thick, researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, US, have developed one that is smaller than a grain of rice. The pacemaker has no wires and does not need to be removed at a later date because it dissolves. A study published in the journal Nature found the miniature pacemaker worked well in mice and rats and successfully corrected abnormalities in heart rhythm. Scientists came up with the invention while searching for a way to monitor the hearts of babies who had undergone life-saving cardiac surgery. 'Our major motivation was children,' cardiologist Igor Efimov, who co-authored the study, told science publication IBSA Foundation. 'About 1 per cent of children are born with congenital heart defects, [and often] in about seven days or so [of temporary stimulation], most patients' hearts will self-repair. But those seven days are absolutely critical.' Affecting one in 100 babies born in the UK, those with a congenital heart defect may need surgery before being fitted with a temporary pacemaker to monitor heart rhythm. It is then removed again at a later date. But surgery is risky and can lead to infection, lacerations and perforations. However, with this new pacemaker, the risk of life-threatening complications is reduced because it is small enough to fit into a syringe and can be inserted without the need for surgery. The mini pacemaker is made with two electrodes of different metals, which, when in contact with the body's fluids, generate an electrical current capable of stimulating the heart when needed. Its soft and flexible structure also means it can fit onto the heart wall without the need for invasive stitches. Researchers hope the device will open up new possibilities for cardiologists, including being able to give patients several pacemakers at once, enabling them to control single areas of the heart. However, these small pacemakers are not intended to replace permanent ones in patients with chronic heart rhythm problems who need them for life.
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The new device smaller than a grain of rice that could save thousands at risk of heart problems... and it can be installed without surgery
Roughly 1,000 NHS patients a week have a pacemaker implanted to steady their heart rate and protect them against potentially fatal abnormal rhythms. Since the first one was used in Sweden in 1958, the devices are thought to have saved tens of thousands of lives by reducing the risk of a cardiac arrest.
ABC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Woman's heart surgery at Flinders Medical Centre delayed for months
A South Australian woman who feared she might not make it while waiting for heart surgery has been told her life-saving procedure has been scheduled for next week. Bek Batt told ABC Radio Adelaide on Tuesday morning that she was told in January that she needed a pacemaker and two stents in her heart, as well as a cardiac ablation, to treat an irregular heartbeat. The Victor Harbor woman said she had met a surgeon and was told she would be waiting for no more than a month. "He said if he had his way I'd be in within two weeks, I was promised it would be no more than two weeks, no more than four weeks, I'm still waiting," she said. "I think I'll be gone before I get the heart surgery." She said she was worried she would have a stroke while waiting for the treatment at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) but understood the significant demand on healthcare workers. "They're all under pressure and there's no way around it," Ms Batt said. After speaking with the ABC, Ms Batt was told her surgery had been scheduled for next week. The woman said she was "very relieved" to have a booked-in date. Earlier today, SA Health chief executive Robyn Lawrence said the health system was facing "unprecedented demand" in some areas because of "a really bad flu season this year". "It's not a crisis but it's definitely extremely busy right across our system," Dr Lawrence said. "We also have 261 patients waiting for residential aged care, which is a 40 per cent uplift since last year." She said the decision to postpone category 1 elective surgery was up to doctors at individual hospitals. "If the hospital needs to make that call and they can do it safely, they will make the appropriate decision," she said. The FMC, the biggest hospital in Adelaide's southern suburbs, is where ambulances spend more time waiting to offload patients — also known as being "ramped" — than any other Adelaide hospital excluding the Royal Adelaide, according to government data which dates back to 2017. The number of hours ambulances spent ramped outside the FMC increased from 876 in February to 1,121 in March — the biggest spike of any Adelaide hospital. In June, the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) said the level of violence has increased in the hospital's emergency department where several patients have threatened doctors and caused property damage.
Medscape
14-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Can This Pacemaker Overcome Stubborn Hypertension?
When medications for hypertension fail, or patients cannot adhere to the drugs, physicians may soon find themselves considering a new option for treating hypertension. Atrioventricular interval modulation (AVIM) therapy, a pacing algorithm incorporated into dual-chamber pacemakers, is being tested in patients with uncontrolled hypertension and a need for a pacemaker. Ongoing research could lead to a widened indication in patients who have uncontrolled blood pressure but do not need cardiac pacing, according to the developers of the technology. In April, the US FDA granted a Breakthrough Device Designation to Orchestra BioMed for its AVIM device, called BackBeat. According to the company, more than 7.7 million Americans meet the agency's criteria for this designation, having uncontrolled hypertension, preserved left ventricular systolic function, and a 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. David Hochman, the CEO of Orchestra BioMed, the company that created AVIM therapy, said a benefit of the technology is that it doesn't require patient adherence to medication. 'With hypertension, patients don't really necessarily feel symptoms, but they need to take medication to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, and they do feel side effects from the medicine.' Orchestra BioMed is collaborating with Medtronic on the BACKBEAT study, a randomized, double-blinded trial aiming to enroll approximately 500 patients. The MODERATO II study, on which the FDA designation was based, found patients who used the device experienced an 11.1 mm Hg ( P < .001) reduction in mean 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure at 6 months, a 8.1 mm Hg greater than those managed only with antihypertensive medications. Older patients with isolated systolic hypertension are particularly challenging to manage. They 'are at higher risk of heart failure because of higher pulse pressure against a stiffer ventricle and stiffer blood vessels,' and they also are more challenging to treat,' Hochman said. 'It's a population with more unmet need and less dedicated research,' he added. Christopher DeSimone, MD, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said a nonpharmacologic option for uncontrolled hypertension is appealing because 'patients may have issues with compliance issues, polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions and face rising drug costs and fixed incomes.' However, he said he would like to see data showing this benefit is sustained in longer follow-up of 6-12 months. The 11 mg Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure seen in the MODERATO II trial is 'significant, and would play a big role for a lot of our patients.' A 2016 meta-analysis found every 10 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure reduced the risk for major cardiovascular disease events by 20% and led to a 13% reduction in all-cause mortality. In those with pacemakers already, DeSimone said, 'the added risk of running the algorithm is essentially nothing. The patient would only stand to benefit and if not — the algorithm can be turned off.' But the implantation of a new pacing device for treating hypertension alone, he added, 'there are risks associated with the procedure, as well as infection risks given these reside in the bloodstream and can serve as a nidus for infection.' James Brian Byrd, MD, assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a cardiologist who researches and treats hypertension, said reducing blood pressure is 'really, really important from the perspective of public health and avoiding strokes and early deaths from heart attacks.' But he questioned whether the financial incentives of implanting a device could outweigh the incentives of adding on inexpensive medications. 'We have really well established and effective treatments that are inexpensive, that aren't used enough, and don't have champions necessarily for them,' Byrd said, referencing later-line hypertension therapies like spironolactone, amiloride, guanfacine, and eplerenone. Spironolactone, for example, is a generic drug that does not receive industry promotion, and while it can be effective in treating isolated systolic hypertension in particular, use of the m edication is associated with hyperkalemia. He worried that physicians could be financially incentivized to implant a device that does not require long-term follow-up 'as opposed to giving people medication where you have to check periodically to see whether their potassium is too high.' DeSimone agreed hypertension therapy falls short in many patients. 'It is quite difficult for the patient's family doctor to add on yet another therapy that takes time and resources to monitor in a situation that is already overwhelmed,' he said. As a result, the overwhelming majority of hypertension patients 'are not optimized, so they're not taking all of the therapies they could take or they've not been prescribed the right doses.' Hochman said that concerns that pacemakers would be overused for blood pressure are premature. Orchestra Med would need to 'produce very compelling data that satisfies regulators and ultimately satisfies the clinical community' before the pacemakers could be used to treat blood pressure alone, he explained. He added that pacemakers have become safer, with the advent of conduction system pacing. Pacemakers are also becoming easier to implant with the move toward leadless devices which are implanted fully in the heart and have a small footprint. DeSimone said the two other approved medical devices to treat blood pressure, baroreflex activation therapy and renal denervation, have had limited effectiveness and uptake. With AVIM technology 'by altering the physiology of the heart and the autonomic nervous system together, this device would fill a need that is currently lacking.' Hochman is the CEO of Orchestra BioMed, the company that created the AVIM pacemaker technology. Byrd has served on advisory boards for companies developing medications for hypertension. DeSimone reported having no relevant financial conflicts of interest.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Maisie Smith lifts the lid on marriage plans with boyfriend Max George... but her mum insists she's 'too young' to wed just yet
Ex-EastEnders star Maisie Smith has lifted the lid on her plans to marry boyfriend Max George as her mum insisted that she is 'too young' right now. The 23-year-old actress has been dating former The Wanted star since 2022, and their relationship has gone from strength-to-strength. Maisie and Max, who have a 13-year age gap, live together in Manchester - but it seems the pair are in no rush to take their romance to the next level just yet. Max, 36, recently underwent life-saving heart surgery, where he had a pacemaker fitted. Despite the huge operation, Maisie has admitted they are keen to just take things slowly. She told The Sun on Sunday: 'I'm still a baby! 'We have so much time - we have got the whole world, a whole life. 'Now Max is getting better and stronger and fitter. And we are ready to start an exciting next chapter of our time together.' Maisie revealed that the op has made the couple realise that they both want to be more impulsive, have fun, travel the world, see new things and to make friends. She explained how they are in the mindset of enjoying right now and making the most of every minute. In December, Max was fitted with a pacemaker after his mum Babs realised he had 'turned blue' and pushed for him to go to A&E. He feared he would die, so at the time wrote out a will in his phone. Max, who has been sober for over four years after previous liver issues, reflected on his journey after the op. The Wanted singer explained that alcohol wasn't a factor in his condition, saying he gave up drinking after doctors flagged concerns about his liver following years of heavy partying on tour. The Glad You Came hitmaker noted it is all a 'mystery' what has happened to him, although doctors have been able to eliminate some possible causes. The loved-up duo have been inseparable since going official in August 2022 and also living together. In an Instagram post, Max shared some adorable snaps of him and his partner cuddled up on the sofa. Max captioned the trio of photos simply with: 'It's so good to be home'.
