Medtronic India Launches World’s Smallest Pacemaker with AV Synchrony to Treat Heart Block

India Medtronic Private Limited announced the launch of Micra™ AV – a miniaturized, fully self-contained pacemaker that delivers advanced pacing technology to atrioventricular (AV) block patients via a minimally invasive approach. The device is the first pacemaker that can sense atrial activity without a lead or device in the upper chamber of the heart.

“Medtronic is known to invent, innovate and disrupt – whether it was the first battery powered pacemaker in 1957 or the latest Micra AV pacemaker. Now with Micra AV, patients suffering from complete heart block have the option for a leadless device that is delivered through a minimally invasive procedure and is cosmetically invisible to the patient,” said Abhishek Bhargava, Director, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Cardiac Ablation & Diagnostics at Medtronic India in a press statement. “We remain firmly committed to introducing innovations that alleviate pain, restore health and extend lives of patients in India.

The Need & its Importance

Bradycardia is a condition characterized by a slow or irregular heart rhythm, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute (normal heart rate is 60 – 100 bpm). At this rate, the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise, causing dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells. Atrioventricular block (AV block) is a type of heart block in which the electrical signals between the chambers of the heart (the atria and the ventricles) are impaired. Pacemakers, the most common way to treat bradycardia and AV block, help restore the heart’s normal rhythm and relieve symptoms by sending electrical impulses to the heart to increase the heart rate.