'World's smallest' pacemaker implanted in Bangladesh patient

Weighing around two grams, the world's smallest pacemaker “Micra” has been implanted successfully in a patient with bradycardia at Apollo Hospitals in the capital.

Dr Shams Munwar, the hospital's chief cardiologist, who inserted “Micra” inside the patient, said this at a press conference at The Daily Star Centre yesterday, organised by Medtronic, a global medical technology development company.

Md Abu Sulaiman, 54, is the first person in the country who has Micra, he said. “Its longevity is also remarkably good and much more than the regular peacemakers,” said Dr Shams.

Bradycardia is a condition when the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise as a result a patient feels dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells.

“Micra” is equal to a big capsule -- 0.8 cm. The pacemaker is easy to send to the heart through a catheter inserted in femoral vein without any surgery. It takes only 15 minutes for the implantation process.

With an average 12-year battery life, the pacemaker costs Tk 9 lakh and implantation charge is Tk 60,000.

For patients who need more than one heart device, the leadless pacemaker is designed with a unique feature that enables it to be permanently turned off so it can remain in the body and a new device can be implanted without the risk of electrical interaction.

The pacemaker has been inserted in about 744 patients around the world. Medtronic Country Director Farrukh Alam and Deputy General Manager of Apollo Hospitals Akhter Jamil were also present at the programme.