Mercy Medical Center Offers Implants of World’s First Dual-chamber, Leadless Pacemaker System
SPRINGFIELD — AVEIR DR, the world’s first dual-chamber, leadless pacemaker system, is now available at Mercy Medical Center to patients suffering from abnormal or slow heart rhythms.
Mercy’s board-certified cardiologist and electrophysiologist Dr. John Marenco is the only clinical provider in Western Mass. who has completed the necessary training to implant the AVEIR DR, a groundbreaking system that provides Mercy with a new minimally invasive option to treat the nearly 80% of people who require pacing in two chambers of the heart (both the right atrium and right ventricle).
Unlike traditional pacemakers, leadless devices are implanted directly into the heart through a minimally invasive procedure and eliminate the need for cardiac leads. As a result, leadless pacemakers reduce people’s exposure to potential lead- and pocket-related complications and offer a less restrictive and shorter recovery period. Developed by Abbott, AVEIR DR was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2023.
“Mercy Medical Center is proud to offer this groundbreaking technology to our cardiac patients who require pacing in both chambers of the heart,” said Dr. Asha Dhamija chief medical officer at Mercy Medical Center and Johnson Memorial Hospital. “AVEIR DR aligns with Mercy’s mission to serve as a transforming, healing presence by safely and effectively revolutionizing care for people with slow or irregular heart rhythms.”
Roughly one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker, the AVEIR DR dual-chamber, leadless pacing system is made up of two devices: the AVEIR VR ventricular leadless pacemaker, which paces the right ventricle, and the AVEIR AR atrial leadless pacemaker, which paces the right atrium.
Through Abbott’s proprietary i2i communication technology, AVEIR DR devices provide synchronized or coordinated cardiac pacing between two leadless pacemakers based on the person’s clinical needs. This technology utilizes high-frequency pulses to relay messages via the naturally conductive characteristics of the body’s blood. Conducted communication is critical because it uses far less battery current than inductive radio frequency or Bluetooth communication.
Marenco serves as president of Pioneer Valley Cardiology Associates. He performs several hundred electrophysiologic procedures each year, including pacemaker and defibrillator implantations, catheter ablations, electrophysiologic studies, and implantable loop recorder insertions. Additionally, Marenco and Dr. Sudhir Reddy are the only electrophysiologists in the region trained on the Medtronic Pulse Select PFA system for treatment of atrial fibrillation, a procedure available at Mercy.