COLUMBIA, Tenn. — Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) is proud to now offer the world’s smallest pacemaker: the Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS), which provides patients the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker.
Kevin Maquiling, M.D., performed the first Micra® TPS procedure at MRMC in February 2019. Dr. Maquiling is a member of the MRMC medical staff and a specialist in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology with Vanderbilt Heart–Columbia.
“This new device is similar in size to a large vitamin and does not require cardiac wires — leads — like with traditional pacemakers,” Dr. Maquiling said. “It is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart with small tines. Following the procedure, as patients go about their day-to-day lives, the Micra® TPS will adjust its pacing therapy to match their activity levels.”
The Micra® TPS is intended for patients with bradycardia, a condition characterized by a slow or irregular heart rhythm that is 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 can cause dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells. Pacemakers, including the traditional model and the new Micra® TPS, are the most common way to treat bradycardia as they help to restore the heart’s normal rhythm by sending electrical impulses to the heart.
The Micra® TPS was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2016 and has been granted Medicare reimbursement status, allowing broad patient access to the new pacing technology. It is also the first and only transcatheter pacing system to be approved for both 1.5 and 3 Tesla full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
“This addition to our interventional cardiac services allows Maury Regional Medical Center to continue our mission of providing clinical excellence for the southern Middle Tennessee region by offering new and world-class technological developments like the Micra® TPS for our patients,” said Maury Regional Health CEO Alan Watson.
MRMC is recognized as a chest pain center by the American College of Cardiology and holds certification in the treatment of heart failure by The Joint Commission. MRMC performs pacemaker procedures in its Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, which eliminates the need for an operating room and expedites recovery time.
In addition to its work with pacemakers, MRMC provides a number of interventional services, such as implanting internal cardiac defibrillators and completing angioplasty and stenting procedures. The facility also offers diagnostic testing, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and more.
Learn more about Maury Regional Health’s cardiac services at all our locations by visiting MauryRegional.com/Heart or by calling 931.381.1111.