About 3,000 Chinese patients benefit from world's smallest pacemaker

About 3,000 Chinese patients with slow heartbeats have been implanted with a Micra, the world's smallest pacemaker, which debuted at the second China International Import Expo.

The device, 93 percent smaller than other pacemakers on the market, caught great attention at the 2nd CIIE in 2019, when it was announced it would be marketed in China.

"The Micra transcatheter leadless pacemaker system was a star product during the CIIE. Its small size introduced a new innovative therapy to patients with slow heartbeats and avoided complications, mobility restrictions and after-surgery infections like normal pacemakers," said Dr Zhang Shu from Fuwai Hospital during this year's CIIE, when a charity program promoting heart disease prevention and control in China was unveiled.

There are about 10 million people with arrhythmia in China, with numbers expected to rise as the population ages and lifestyles change.

"Compared with the high incidence, the understanding about arrhythmia in the nation is low, as well as a low rate of people undergoing proper diagnosis and treatment," he said. "The prevalence of pacemaker implants is much lower, less than one tenth of leading Western countries."

A slow heartbeat is a key symptom of arrhythmia. Patients with slow heartbeats can suffer chest problems, shortness of breath and dizziness. Pacemaker implants are the only effective therapy, experts said.

Ti Gong