Bismarck is the first in the region to offer the Micra Leadless Pacemaker, bringing state-of-the-art technology to individuals with heart rhythm disorders. The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) offers the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker.
Bradycardia is a condition characterized by a slow or irregular heart rhythm, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute. At this rate, the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise, causing dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells. Pacemakers are the most common way to treat bradycardia to help restore the heart's normal rhythm and relieve symptoms by sending electrical impulses to the heart to increase the heart rate.
What is the Micra Pacemaker?
Comparable in size to a large vitamin, the Micra is a miniaturized heart device designed to provide the most advanced pacing technology – all while being cosmetically invisible.
Made by Medtronic, the Micra is unlike traditional pacemakers because the device does not require cardiac wires (leads) or a surgical “pocket” under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy. Traditionally, pacemakers are implanted in the left or right upper chest and require leads to be placed directly into the heart. This device minimizes the risk of infection and speeds recovery time.
Designed to provide a safe alternative to conventional pacemakers – without the complications associated with leads – the Micra is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart with small tines and delivers electrical impulses that pace the heart through an electrode at the end of the device.
Customized to each patient’s needs, the Micra automatically adjusts pacing therapy based on a person’s activity levels.
The Micra is the first and only transcatheter pacing system approved for both 1.5 and 3 Tesla (T) full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and is designed to allow patients to be followed by their physicians and send data remotely.
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2016, the Micra has been granted Medicare coverage, allowing broad patient access to the novel pacing technology. Not everyone is a candidate for the Micra pacemaker. Visit with your provider to see what options are available to you.
(Dr. Colby Halsey is the only cardiac electrophysiologist in Bismarck serving patients at Heart & Lung Clinic. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in the sub-specialty of cardiovascular disease and electrophysiology. He has special training in catheter ablation of heart arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, atrial fibrillation management, ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation management, and cardiac device implantation and extraction.)