Leadless Pacemakers Now Offered at Loyola Medicine
April 8, 2018Categories: Heart & Vascular
Tags: Heart Vascular
MAYWOOD, IL – Loyola Medicine is now offering select heart patients leadless pacemakers that are less invasive and cause fewer complications than standard pacemakers.
A pacemaker treats bradycardia, a slow heart rate, by providing an electrical stimulation to create a heartbeat at a programmed rate.
In a standard system, the pacemaker is implanted under the skin just below the collarbone. A lead (wire) extends to the patient's heart. The new leadless pacemaker does not have any wires. It also is miniaturized so the electronics, battery and delivery system are contained in one unit the size of a large vitamin pill.
"Patients can't even tell they have it," said cardiologist Peter Santucci, MD, medical director of Loyola's implant device program.
The leadless pacemaker is deployed with a catheter that is inserted in a patient's groin and guided through blood vessels up to the heart. The device is secured to heart muscle inside the lower right pumping chamber.
Unlike a standard pacemaker, a leadless pacemaker does not create a bulge under the skin.
Compared with standard pacemakers, leadless pacemakers carry reduced risks of infections and clots and also eliminate potential problems with heart valve function, Dr. Santucci said.
"The leadless pacemaker is another example of how Loyola is able to offer the most modern advances to our patients," Dr. Santucci said.
Not all cardiac patients who have bradycardia qualify for leadless pacemakers. To see if a leadless pacemaker may be right for you, see an electrophysiologist, Dr. Santucci said. (An electrophysiologist is a cardiologist such as Dr. Santucci who specializes in treating heart rhythm disorders.)
Loyola's Center for Heart and Vascular Medicine is one of the leading centers in the Midwest for the diagnosis and treatment of complex heart rhythm disorders. Electrophysiologists offer treatment options that may be unavailable at other centers. U.S. News and World Report's Best Hospitals 2017-18 ranks Loyola 18th in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).