Athens, Ga. (January 16, 2024) – Piedmont Athens Regional and the Piedmont Heart Institute are excited to announce that their electrophysiology team is among the first in the Southeast to recently implant the commercial AVEIR DR, the world’s first dual chamber leadless pacemaker system by Abbott. This groundbreaking system, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2023, is revolutionizing care for patients with slow or abnormal heart rhythms.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for our team,” shared Kent Nilsson, M.D., the Piedmont Heart Institute Athens physician who led the team performing the first post-FDA approval procedure at Piedmont Athens Regional. “This innovative technology gives our patients a device that is reliable, retrievable, and upgradeable and is implanted directly into the heart through a minimally invasive procedure. It’s a big step in patient care, and I’m very pleased that we are the first within Piedmont and one of the first in the Southeast to bring this care to our patients.”
According to experts, nearly 80 percent of people with abnormal or slow heart rhythms require pacing in two chambers of the heart: the right atrium and the right ventricle. Roughly one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker, the Abbott AVEIR DR dual chamber leadless pacing system is made up of two devices: the AVEIR VR ventricular leadless pacemaker, which paces the right ventricle (VR), and the AVEIR AR atrial leadless pacemaker, which paces the right atrium. The leadless devices are implanted directly into the heart, eliminating the need for cardiac leads and chest pocket, thus reducing a patient’s exposure to lead and pocket-related complications and infections. It also means a less restrictive and shorter recovery period for patients post-implantation. Most patients will go home the same day as their procedure.
“This system creates a significant opportunity to expand the number of patients we can serve,” said Daniel Haithcock, M.D., an electrophysiologist with Piedmont Heart Institute in Athens and part of the team that performed the first case in Athens following FDA approval of the system. “The data shows that there are millions of people across the U.S. who would benefit from pacing in both chambers of the heart, and we can offer a solution that allows them to improve their overall health and return to the things they love to do.”
Through Abbott’s proprietary i2i communication technology, AVEIR DR devices provide synchronized or coordinated cardiac pacing between two leadless pacemakers based on the patient’s specific needs. The pacemakers utilize high-frequency pulses to relay messages via the naturally conductive characteristics of the body. Conducted communication is critical because it uses far less battery current than inductive, radio frequency, or Bluetooth communication. The AVEIR DR leadless pacemakers are engineered to be retrieved should a person’s therapy needs change or they need a replacement device in the future. Drs. Haithcock and Nilsson served as investigators during Abbott’s clinical trials, helping to develop and bring the system to the commercial market.
Learn more about Piedmont’s cardiology services.
Visit abbott.com for more information about the Abbott AVEIR DR system.