Study shows wireless pacemakers could cut patient complications

Where has the research come from?

Cleveland Clinic. Its findings show that patients are less likely to experience complications using pacemakers that don’t use wires to connect the device to the heart.

Leadless pacemakers are small, self-contained devices that are placed directly into the heart using a catheter that is carried from the leg to the heart via the thigh’s femoral vein.

More than one million pacemakers are implanted each year globally. The first leadless pacemaker was introduced in 2014 and approved by the US FDA two years later.

Why are leadless pacemakers showing these results?

Conventional pacemaker models are connected to the heart using a wire that stretches from the shoulder vein to the heart. According to previous research, these wires are the most common source of complications for patients.

How did the study work?

The study compared short and mid-term complications between 718 patients receiving the Nanostim leadless pacemakers and 1,436 patients with conventional pacemakers.

At one month and up to 18 months, patients receiving the leadless pacemaker had fewer complications. They were found to eliminate lead and pocket complications, including infections.

What else do we need to know?

Looking at vascular complications, electrode dislodgement and generator complications, there were no significant differences between the two groups. The study did find however that those receiving leadless pacemakers had an increased risk of developing bleeding between the heart and the sac that surrounds it.