Delray Medical Center Is First Hospital in South Florida to Treat Heart Arrythmia with Innovative AVEIR™ DR Dual Chamber Leadless Pacemaker

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – Delray Medical Center is the first hospital in South Florida to offer an innovative treatment for patients with slow or irregular heart rhythms, using the new AVEIR™ DR dual chamber leadless pacemaker system. The first surgery was performed at the hospital by Dr. Mark Freher on April 18th.

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2023, the AVEIR DR system, which is manufactured by Abbott, provides a new minimally invasive option to treat people who require pacing in two chambers of the heart (both the right atrium and right ventricle). Unlike traditional pacemakers, leadless devices are implanted directly into the heart and eliminate the need for cardiac leads. Traditional pacemakers require an incision to implant a battery in a pocket under the patient’s skin in the collarbone area. Wires from the battery are then stretched through veins and attached to the heart muscle.

Studies have shown that some patients who are implanted with traditional, wired pacemakers can experience such complications as bleeding or infection in the surgical pockets or blood clots around the wires.

“We believe offering this innovative new treatment will help improve the lives of our patients by reducing their exposure to the kinds of lead and pocket-related complications associated with traditional pacemakers,” said Daniel Listi, Delray Medical Center’s CEO. “This is another affirmation of our commitment to providing the communities we serve with groundbreaking technologies and treatments that meet the healthcare needs of residents.”

Roughly one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker, the AVEIR DR dual chamber leadless pacing system is made up of two devices – the AVEIR VR ventricular leadless pacemaker, which paces the right ventricle, and the AVEIR AR atrial leadless pacemaker, which paces the right atrium. The system includes beat-to-beat communication between the two leadless pacemakers, which provides synchronized or coordinated cardiac pacing.

According to Abbott, nearly 80% of people who receive a pacemaker need a dual chamber option to pace both chambers of the heart. However, currently available leadless pacing options have been limited to single chamber ventricular devices because seamless, wireless synchronization of two leadless pacemakers has been a significant technological challenge. AVEIR leadless pacemakers are also engineered to be retrieved if a patient’s therapy needs change, or if they need a replacement device in the future.