"Hello! I want to tell you that in order to remain active as I like, and because I always bet on life, I decided together with my doctors to install a state-of-the-art
pacemaker
that properly regulates my heart rate," Mirtha Legrand told this afternoon. through their social networks.
"(It was) something that had already been discussed after the placement of the stents for some time. I made the decision together with my family and my medical team. It will be an outpatient intervention next week," he announced.
What is a pacemaker?
What is it for?
In which cases is it indicated?
How is the intervention to place it?
Here are answers to those and other questions.
What is a pacemaker and what is it used for?
As the diva commented, a pacemaker, which is also called a
cardiac pacing device
, is a small device that is implanted in the chest to help control the heartbeat and is used to prevent the heart from beating too slowly.
The heart of an adult at rest should beat between 60 and 100 times per minute under normal conditions.
When there is bradycardia,
the heart beats less than 60 times per minute
, which can be a serious problem, since the heart is not pumping enough blood to carry oxygen throughout the body.
"The pacemaker is a device that consists of a battery or electric generator and cables. This is implanted in a
'pocket' that is made under a muscle of the thorax
, mainly the pectoral muscle, and from there internally the cables that go to introduce into a vein that, ultimately, will reach the heart,"
cardiologist Mario Boskis, a member of the Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC), responded to
Clarín .
The main function of the pacemaker is
to guarantee a minimum heart rate.
"The placement of a pacemaker is indicated when electrical disease of the heart
is detected
, mainly in the case of significant arrhythmias, such as extreme sinus bradycardia, in which the heart rate is very slow; or when the generating center of the electrical impulse of the heart (which is called the sinus node) is diseased and the heart cannot generate the heartbeat. Also when the electrical system of the heart is damaged and blockages occur."
"Age is not always an impediment for interventions, although there may be diseases that complicate them. In normal situations, there are usually no problems performing them," he clarified.
What are the "latest generation" pacemakers?
"Pacemakers have evolved a lot in recent years. When talking about state-of-the-art pacemakers, they generally refer to pacemakers that are tiny, generally weigh 30 grams, are
connected
to the atrium and ventricle, and are capable of sensing many physiological processes and act when the body needs it," Boskis said.
In recent years, small leadless devices, which are implanted through the femoral vein (in the groin) into the right ventricle of the heart (see below), have become available worldwide.
In August of last year, a new very small pacemaker was implanted for the first time in Argentina, the size of a pill, 93% smaller than traditional pacemakers and without any type of cables.
How is a pacemaker placed?
As explained above, the traditional pacemaker is placed in a kind of "pocket" created by the surgeon below the clavicle.
"The intervention is generally low risk, and is often done under
local anesthesia
, in any case it is still an intervention that must be carefully performed by a cardiovascular surgeon and an electrophysiologist specializing in pacemakers," Boskis stressed.
The procedure usually takes between an hour and an hour and a half, he estimated.
And he added that many times patients remain hospitalized for 24 hours for control.
The pacemaker battery lasts between 5 and 10 years.
When it runs out, the pulse generator can be changed.
Miniature and wireless pacemakers
Leadless pacemakers are smaller
and generally require simpler procedures to implant.
The procedure is characterized by being minimally invasive and is performed
by moving the device through the femoral vein
located in the patient's leg to his heart, where it is finally inserted to stay there, explained the Argentine Federation of Cardiology (FAC), to the announce the implantation of the first 7 miniature devices in the country in August 2022, at the Integral Center for Arrhythmias in the province of Tucumán, under the supervision of cardiologist Luis Aguinaga.
"This is an intervention that
takes minutes
and enables the patient to resume his normal life immediately the next day. In turn, by not requiring an incision, complications derived from healing problems are reduced (a more than beneficial point for patients with this type of pathology, for example, people with diabetes)", highlighted from the FAC.
"By not using cables, it also rules out any risk of infection, and its structure developed in pure titanium offers the peace of mind of not having rejections due to allergies," the document added.
As explained from the FAC, the operation of the miniature pacemaker is based on algorithm engineering and programming, "
something totally different from what is known
, as well as the technological challenge that involves having a battery with a duration of 8 to 13 years in a size so small."
Likewise, the wireless connectivity system allows the health professional to have real-time information on the patient's condition through a digital application and perform remote configurations to adjust the parameters that guarantee the correct activity of the heart.
"Thanks to its characteristics, approximately 50% of the pacemaker population can benefit from the technology of this cutting-edge device," stated Aguinaga.
***
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