William Newton Hospital Successfully Implants AVEIR™ DR, the World’s First Dual Chamber Leadless Pacemaker System
Dec 03, 2024
William Newton Hospital Successfully Implants AVEIR™ DR, the World’s First Dual Chamber Leadless Pacemaker System
On October 9, William Newton Hospital successfully implanted AVEIR™ DR, the world’s first dual chamber leadless pacemaker system from Abbott that effectively treats people with abnormal or slow heart rhythms. The hospital is the first in Kansas outside of the Kansas City metro area to offer this new device.
The groundbreaking system, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2023, provides William Newton Hospital with a new minimally invasive option to treat the nearly 80 percent of people who require pacing in two chambers of the heart (both the right atrium and right ventricle).i
Radiologic technologist Rebecka Tebben, RTR, a member of the cardiovascular catheterization lab team at William Newton Hospital, says the AVEIR™ leadless pacemaker “allows our patients to get all the benefits of a pacemaker without the restrictions of a traditional device.”
Unlike traditional pacemakers, leadless pacemakers are tiny devices implanted directly into the heart. This means no wires or surgical cuts in the chest. This reduces the risk of infection and other complications often associated with traditional pacemakers. Patients recover faster and can return to their normal activities sooner.
Roughly one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker, the tiny, dual-chamber pacemaker system doesn't need wires. It has two parts: one for the right ventricle and one for the right atrium. These parts talk to each other wirelessly, which is a big technological breakthrough.
“William Newton Hospital is privileged to work with Abbott to offer this groundbreaking pacemaker to our patients,” says CEO Brian Barta, CPA.
Barta added that the cath lab, which opened in 2020 within the H. L. Snyder Medical Foundation Surgery Center, is on track to set a new record in 2024 for the number of procedures performed annually. William Newton Hospital is one of two critical access hospitals in Kansas with a cath lab and has performed 393 procedures year-to-date as of September 30.
“Utilizing innovative technology like the AVEIR™ DR will create a significant opportunity to expand the number of people we can serve,” expressed Barta.
Learn more about cardiovascular services at WNH
i. Mond Harry, Proclemer A. The 11th world survey of cardiac pacing and implantable cardioverter defibrillators; calendar year 2009 – a world society of arrhythmia’s project. PACE. August 2011; 34 (8): 1013-1027
Proudly Showing the Pacemaker
From left, Dan Buchmueller, Abbott Regional Leadless Clinical Specialist, shows off the innovative equipment in the cardiovascular catheterization lab with William Newton Hospital team members Sarah Cooper, RTR, Steven Kramp, RN, Rebecka Tebben, RTR, and Ryan Beard, MD.
Posted in Cardiology , In The News , Surgery on Dec 03, 2024