UAE becomes third country in world to use leadless Abbott pacemaker – The National

UAE becomes third country in world to use leadless Abbott pacemaker – The National

The UAE has become the third country in the world to use a type of leadless pacemaker after it was implanted in patients in the US and Canada.

Al Qassimi hospital in Sharjah successfully placed the dual-chamber Aveir device in a 71-year-old patient on Monday.

Dr Mohamed Mjady, head of the arrhythmia unit at the hospital, said the pacemaker, from US company Abbott, is implanted in the heart’s right ventricle using a minimally invasive procedure to treat slower-than-normal heart rates.

He said his patient, from Iraq, came to the hospital in November to seek treatment for pneumonia.

The pacemaker will spare patients from undergoing traditional surgery as it only requires a cannula-size piercing

Dr Mohamed Mjady

“He was admitted to the ICU and during his treatment for pneumonia, it was discovered that his heartbeat was abnormally slow,” Dr Mjady said.

“It was as low as 20, while a normal heartbeat should be between 60 and 80. Doctors had to put him on medications to increase his heartbeat.”

The patient also suffered from low blood pressure.

“He needed a pacemaker, but we had to wait until he recovered from pneumonia,” Dr Mjady said. “Otherwise, we could risk the infection getting to the device and from it to the heart muscle.

“The