Barcelona implants the world´s smallest pacemaker

On February 19, an operation to implant the world´s smallest, wireless pacemaker was performed at the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona.

The Director of the Hospital´s Cardiology Service, Xavier Viñolas, has described this achievement as a “revolution” in the world of medical care.

Barcelona´s Hospital had identified pacemakers as “the most common way,” to treat atrioventricular and cardiovascular conditions, which around 40,000 of the residents experience annually.

The pacemakers function by sending electrical impulses to the heart, restoring its healthy rhythm and alleviating symptoms, including breathing difficulty and dizziness. 

The innovative devices, MicraTM VR2 and AV2 have a 40 per cent longer life length than the previous models. 

With a guaranteed functioning between 16 and 17 years, 8 out of 10 patients will no longer require a replacement for the rest of their lives.

The new models greatly reduce patient trips to hospitals, as the wireless pacemakers include capture control and remote monitoring capacity