Regional Medical Center | Thrive for Life | Summer 2018

RMC ANNISTON IS ONE of the first hospitals in the area to offer the world’s smallest pacemaker to help treat patients with bradycardia. The Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) is a new device that provides patients with the most advanced cardiac pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker. Comparable in size to a large vitamin, the Micra TPS is a miniaturized heart device designed to provide the most advanced pacing technology while being cosmetically invisible. It’s also leadless. Micra® management: Tiny technology for Learn more! For more information about RMC cardiac services, visit rmccares.org/cardiac-and-vascular-care . To find a cardiologist at RMC, call 256-231-8880 or visit rmccares.org/our-doctors . “Unlike traditional pacemakers, the Micra TPS does not require leads, or cardiac wires,” says Brian Norton, RN, nurse manager of RMC Anniston’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab. “It also does not require a surgical ‘pocket’ under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy.” How Micra works People with bradycardia experience a slow or irregular heart rhythm, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute. At this rate, the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen- rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise, which Advanced HEART CARE causes dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells. Pacemakers—the most common way to treat bradycardia—help to restore the heart's normal rhythm and relieve symptoms. Unlike a traditional pacemaker, the Micra TPS is small enough to be inserted through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart. It delivers electrical impulses that increase and pace your heart rate through an electrode at the end of the device. It automatically adjusts pacing therapy based on your activity level. It is also the first and only transcatheter pacing system approved for both 1.5 and 3 Tesla (T) full-body MRI scans, and it can send data remotely via Medtronic’s CareLink® Network so that your physician can monitor your status. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Micra TPS is approved for Medicare reimbursement, allowing broad patient access to the most advanced pacing technology. “The Micra TPS does not require leads, or cardiac wires.” HEART HEALTH Regional Medical Center 10