Musgrove Park Hospital among first in UK to offer pioneering leadless pacemaker
The device sits inside the heart and removes the need for wires
Patients at Musgrove Park Hospital are benefiting from a pioneering new leadless pacemaker that offers greater freedom, fewer restrictions and a lower risk of complications than traditional devices.
Musgrove has become the first non-cardiothoracic surgical centre to implant the AVEIR leadless pacemaker, enabling selected patients to receive the treatment closer to home rather than being referred elsewhere.
Unlike conventional pacemakers, which are implanted in the chest and connected to the heart by wires known as leads, the new device sits directly inside the heart and does not require any wires.
Dr Guy Furniss, a consultant cardiologist at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said the development represents a significant step forward for carefully selected patients.
"The vast majority of pacemakers are implanted in the chest and then connected to the heart by a wire," he said.
"The challenge is that these wires move every time the heart beats and, over many years, they can become a point of failure.
"Many of our patients will have a pacemaker for decades, and traditional pacemakers also require battery replacement procedures throughout a patient's lifetime, with every intervention carrying a small risk of infection.
"Leadless pacemakers sit entirely within the heart and remove the need for these wires altogether, which is one of their biggest advantages."
The hospital has already implanted the device in two patients in their 40s, both of whom were discharged home the following day without complications.
While not suitable for everyone, the technology offers an important option for patients who meet specific clinical criteria, particularly younger people who are expected to need pacing support for many years.
"A lot of patients will still be better served by a conventional pacemaker and other cardiac devices, so this is not a replacement for existing treatments," Dr Furniss said.
"However, for selected patients, particularly younger people who may not require a great deal of pacing, this device can be a very attractive option. In some cases, it could potentially last for around 25 years."
The procedure itself is very different from a traditional pacemaker implantation. Rather than creating a pocket in the chest, clinicians access the heart through a vein in the groin and carefully steer the device into position.
Leadless pacemakers are also designed to avoid many of the lifestyle restrictions associated with traditional pacemakers, which can require patients to limit arm movements while the leads settle into place.
"With a conventional pacemaker, there are restrictions on arm movement because there is always a concern about disturbing the leads while they heal into position," said Dr Furniss.
"With a leadless pacemaker we don't have those concerns, as patients can get up and moving much more quickly, the groin access site heals within a matter of days, and people have much greater freedom after the procedure.
"It's a really neat technique and very different to what we've done before. For patients, that's a major benefit."
The AVEIR system has been developed to provide a leadless pacing option while retaining flexibility for future treatment needs.
The technology has been designed to be retrievable and upgradable, allowing clinicians to adapt treatment as a patient's condition changes over time.
"Previously, we would have needed to refer these patients to larger specialist centres, so being able to offer this treatment here at Musgrove means patients can receive their care closer to home while accessing the very latest advances in pacing technology," Dr Furniss added.
"We're very proud to have been selected as the first non-cardiothoracic surgical centre to implant this particular device and excited about the opportunities it brings for our patients."