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Posted on 01/11/2003 7:33:21 PM PST by NormsRevenge
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Fri Jan 10, 5:28 PM ET
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CHICAGO (Reuters) -
The first of a new kind of cardiac pacemaker, which responds to emotional stress, has been implanted in an 81-year-old female patient in Louisiana, doctors said on Friday.
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The patient, whose name was withheld, was released from the Heart and Vascular Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Thursday evening and is doing well, they said.
The Protos Pacemaker, manufactured by Biotronik of Germany, translates cardiac signals sent directly from the heart to determine the appropriate heartbeat rate.
Unlike traditional pacemakers, which use motion sensors and therefore respond only to heightened physical exertion, the Protos Pacemaker gets signals directly from the surface of the heart so it also responds when the heart beats faster due to emotional stress.
Cardiac electrophysiologist William Bailey, who implanted the pacemaker and who was a principal investigator in the US Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) clinical trials, said this technology is the only pacemaker able to interpret what the autonomic nervous system is demanding.
"The difference is that there's feedback," Bailey said.
The Protos Pacemaker has a microprocessor, so new features can be installed by upgrading the software, he added.
Good news indeed, for many people who do get a bit stressed from time to time.
What a load if crapola. Pacemakers which measured transthoracic impedance and varied rate by algorithm were developed in the mid 80s and several thousand, if not hundreds of thousands, have been implanted worldwide.
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