Abbott Performs Canada’s First Dual Chamber Leadless Pacemaker Implants with AVEIR DR System

At the Montreal Heart Institute and Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Abbott has performed the first dual chamber leadless pacemaker system implant in history with the AVEIRTM dual chamber (DR) system. The AVEIR DR leadless pacemaker system is intended to broaden Canadian treatment choices while meeting the demands of those with irregular or sluggish heart rhythms. About 200,000 Canadians live with a pacemaker, which helps patients, especially those with bradycardia, control their heartbeat. Heart rhythm abnormalities affect 2% of the population.

Using a novel approach to dual chamber treatment, the AVEIR DR leadless pacemaker system consists of two distinct devices: AVEIR AR, which paces the right atrium, and AVEIR VR, which paces the right ventricle. Each gadget is around 10 times smaller than a conventional pacemaker. Conventional pacemakers are battery-operated medical devices that are surgically inserted beneath the skin of the chest. They give electrical treatment to the heart through tiny, insulated cables called cardiac leads, and they frequently leave a noticeable scar and bulge in the chest. Leadless pacemakers do away with cardiac leads since they are inserted directly into the heart via a minimally invasive operation, in contrast to conventional pacemakers. Leadless pacemakers hence lessen a person's exposure to possible lead- and infection-related problems and provide a less restrictive and shorter recovery period post-implantation.

The first doctors in Canada to conduct the implants were Dr. Derek Exner, a heart-rhythm expert in Calgary, and Dr. Blandine Mondésert, a cardiologist from the Montreal Heart Institute. The AVEIR DR system uses high-frequency pulses to transmit information via the naturally conductive properties of the body's blood, enabling synchronised pacing between two leadless pacemakers on each heartbeat based on a person's therapeutic needs. With a 98.3% system implant success rate, the AVEIR DR i2i Global Clinical Investigation trial demonstrated that the system achieved its one-year prespecified main goals for safety and effectiveness.