St. Luke's First in Cedar Rapids to Offer Dual-Chamber Leadless Pacemaker

UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital Electrophysiologist Talha Farid, MD, is the first in Cedar Rapids to be trained and successfully implant the AVEIR™ DR, the world’s first dual-chamber leadless (wireless) pacemaker system. Designed by Abbott, the AVEIR DR is a minimally invasive option, which effectively treats people with abnormal or slow heart rhythms by sending electrical signals to both upper and lower chambers of the heart (both the right atrium and right ventricle), helping it beat normally again.

Leadless devices are implanted directly into the heart via catheter. Unlike traditional pacemakers, they eliminate the need for cardiac lead wires. As a result, leadless pacemakers reduce patients’ exposure to potential complications and offer a less restrictive and shorter recovery period post-implantation.

Roughly one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker, the 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 (AR). AVEIR incorporates Abbott’s i2i technology, which utilizes high-frequency pulses to relay messages via the naturally conductive characteristics of the body’s blood. Conducted communication is critical because it uses far less battery current than inductive, radio frequency or Bluetooth® communication. AVEIR leadless pacemakers are also engineered to be retrieved should a person’s therapy needs change, or they need a replacement device in the future.

“The dual-chamber leadless pacemaker completely changes the paradigm for treating patients with heart rhythm conditions,” says Dr. Talha Farid. “It opens new opportunities for patients we weren’t able to treat before. Now patients who were too immunocompromised to receive a traditional pacemaker, may be able to be treated, because the risk of infection is significantly lower. There are also no lifting or arm movement restrictions and no incision to care for. We look forward to using the dual-chamber leadless pacemaker to help more patients achieve a better quality of life in a faster, more convenient way.”