Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai has crossed a milestone in wireless, or leadless, pacemaker implantations, reflecting the adoption of this technology for selected patients and the hospital’s focus on cardiac interventions.
According to the hospital, the rise in India’s ageing population and the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease have led to a rise in patients presenting with symptomatic bradycardia, a condition in which the heart beats too slowly to meet the body’s needs. While conventional pacemakers have remained the standard treatment for decades, advances in heart rhythm management have enabled treatment through leadless pacemakers.
The hospital stated that, unlike conventional pacemakers, which require a surgical pocket beneath the skin and insulated leads threaded through veins into the heart, a leadless pacemaker is implanted directly into the heart through a catheter introduced via a puncture in the vein near the groin. According to the hospital, the device is approximately 93 per cent smaller than conventional systems and removes the need for chest incisions, device pockets and pacing leads.
Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai stated that India does not currently have a national registry for symptomatic bradycardia. However, clinicians across the country are reporting a growing burden of the condition, driven by an ageing population, improved survival following heart attacks, rising rates of hypertension, diabetes and coronary artery disease, as well as wider access to electrocardiography, Holter monitoring and electrophysiology services.
According to the hospital, symptomatic bradycardia may result from age-related degeneration of the heart’s electrical conduction system, heart attacks or certain medications. Patients may experience fatigue, dizziness, breathlessness during exertion, fainting episodes or unexplained falls. The hospital stated that untreated severe bradycardia can increase the risk of injury, heart failure and sudden cardiac death.
The hospital stated that permanent pacemaker implantation remains the definitive treatment for symptomatic bradycardia, while advances in device technology have changed the delivery of pacing therapy in suitable patients.
Commenting on developments in heart rhythm management, Dr Sanjeevkumar Kalkekar, Senior Consultant – Interventional Cardiology at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai and National Proctor for Leadless Pacemaker Technology in India, with experience of more than 110 leadless pacemaker implantations across the country, said;
“Pacemakers have saved countless lives for more than half a century. What has changed today is not the need for pacing, but how we deliver it. Leadless pacemakers allow us to offer the same life-saving therapy while avoiding many of the challenges associated with conventional leads and surgical pockets. For appropriately selected patients, this translates into a lower risk of infection, fewer device-related complications, faster recovery, and greater comfort after the procedure.”
According to the hospital, the absence of transvenous leads reduces the risk of lead fractures, lead displacement, venous obstruction and pocket infections. The hospital stated that the devices are MRI compatible, have an expected battery life of approximately 12 to 18 years and, in most cases, allow patients to return home within a day of implantation with minimal restrictions on routine activities.
The hospital stated that leadless pacemaker technology is particularly suited for patients at higher risk of infection, including those undergoing long-term dialysis, individuals with previous pacemaker infections, patients with limited venous access, and elderly or medically frail individuals.
Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai stated that it remains committed to bringing evidence-based innovations for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders.