Feb. 24, 2011
Bethesda North Hospital has performed the first FDA-approved implantation of a new MRI-compatible pacemaker, and is among the first hospitals in the country to implant this device. Until now, patients with implanted pacemakers were unable to have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, scan due to the potential for serious adverse events (I, II, III, IV). Patients of Bethesda North are no longer bound to that restriction.
To provide further context, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 pacemaker patients in the United States have to forgo MRI scans, which can be critical for making a wide range of health diagnoses (IV).
Gaurang Gandhi MD, electrophysiologist at Bethesda North, was the first to implant the new Revo MRI™ SureScan® pacing system at Bethesda North Hospital on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011.
“This new pacemaker is a major technological breakthrough for patients who need MRI,” said Dr. Gandhi, co-medical director of Electrophysiology at Bethesda North. “Although this device isn’t for everyone, the fact that Bethesda North is among the first to offer it to patients reinforces the hospital’s ongoing commitment to provide leading-edge heart care with quality and safety in mind.”
As the population ages, the use of pacemakers is growing, with approximately 5 million patients worldwide who currently are implanted with a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defribrillator (IV).
I Faris OP, Shein M. Food and Drug Administration perspective: Magnetic resonance imaging of pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator patients. Circulation 2006;114:1232-1233.
II Roguin A, Schwitter J, Vahlhaus C, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging in individuals with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices. Europace 2008;10:336-346.
III Levine GN, Gomes AS, Arai AE, et al. Safety of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with cardiovascular devices: an American Heart Association scientific statement from the Committee on Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiac Catheterization, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention: endorsed by the American College of Cardiology Foundation, the North American Society for Cardiac Imaging, and the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. Circulation 2007;116:2878-2891.
IV Kalin R and Stanton MS. Current clinical issues for MRI scanning of pacemaker and defibrillator patients. PACE 2005;28:326-328