Macon, Ga. (February 15, 2024) – An electrophysiology team at Piedmont Macon Medical Center is the first in Middle Georgia to implant the world’s first dual chamber leadless pacemaker system.
The system is known as AVEIR DR and is manufactured by Abbott. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2023, it is revolutionizing care for patients with slow or abnormal heart rhythms.
“This is a paradigm shift in pacemaking,” said Carmine Oddis, M.D., an electrophysiologist who performed the first procedure at Piedmont Macon this week. “We’ve done pacemaker procedures unchanged for the last 40 or 50 years until this came along. It’s all pretty impressive. This is the future, and it’s here today.”
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, Abbott’s AVEIR DR dual chamber leadless pacing system is made up of two devices: the AVEIR VR ventricular leadless pacemaker, which paces the right ventricle, 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 a chest pocket, which reduces a patient’s exposure to lead and pocket-related complications and infections. It also means a less restrictive and shorter recovery period for many patients.
Debbie Bryan, director of Cardiovascular Services at Piedmont Macon, said the new system “creates a great opportunity for our community and our patients.”
“It will allow us another way to treat patients who would benefit from pacing in both chambers of the heart when they are unable to get the traditional pacemaker with leads,” she said. “Piedmont Macon is proud to have one of seven physicians and be one of four hospitals in the state of Georgia that can offer this procedure.”
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.
Conductive 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 if a patient’s therapy needs change or they need a replacement device in the future.
Learn more about Piedmont’s cardiology services, and visit abbott.com for more information about the Abbott AVEIR DR system.