Tiny pacemaker being tested

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Friday, May 30, 2014
Tiny pacemaker being tested
Tests are underway on a new kind of cardiac pacemaker.

Tests are underway on a new kind of cardiac pacemaker - one that's implanted directly into the heart.



At just 24 millimeters long it's about the size of a nickel, making it 90 percent smaller than current models.



In addition to being smaller, there are no leads or wires, which normally go from the chest into the heart.



If those leads go bad, the surgery to replace them can be difficult.



The experimental pacemaker can also be implanted in 15 minutes, without surgery. It's threaded through an artery in the leg and attached in the heart.



Dr. John Hummel explains, "If it stops for a moment, the pacemaker will kick in and keep your heart trundling along. So with that sort of therapy, intermittent pacing, it can last for a long as 14 years."



With no surgery there's less risk of infection.



A few dozen of the new pacemakers have been implanted so far.



Government approval could come late next year.

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