A physician from the Heart and Vascular Institute at Longview (Texas) Regional Medical Center became the first interventional cardiologist in the nation to place a dual-chamber leadless pacemaker.
Samir Germanwala, MD, chairman of cardiology at Longview Regional, performed the procedure in the spring and said the team has placed "about 50 devices to date," according to an Aug. 30 news release shared with Becker's.
The FDA approved Abbott's Aveir system, the first dual-chamber pacemaker approved by the agency, in July 2023. Dual-chamber pacemakers regulate contractions in the right ventricle and right atrium as opposed to single-chamber pacemakers, which connect to only one chamber in a patient's heart.
Leadless pacemakers are associated with a "less restrictive and swifter" post-implantation recovery as placement avoids incision by implanting the device through a needle puncture in the groin, the release said.