Pacemakers have gone wireless, and a McKinney resident is one of the first to get one.
Dr. Dale Yoo. [Photo Courtesy Medical City McKinney]
Medical City McKinney’s Dr. Dale Yoo put the device in Mary Barnett’s shoulder to make sure her heart gets enough electrical stimulation, which is needed to pump blood to the body. Barnett was the first in Texas to receive the new device, the McKinney Courier-Gazette reported.
The 84-year-old was complaining of headaches when she went to the doctor this month.
The Feb. 1 procedure occurred one day after the FDA approved the device. It’s the smallest and longest-lasting wireless MRI-compatible pacemaker on the market. The Assurity MRI pacemaker’s battery can last about 10 years, according to the hospital.
Mary Barnett {Photo courtesy Medical City McKinney]
It can be controlled remotely so there’s nothing for the patient to do. Diagnostic data is sent wirelessly to the physician for monitoring and patients can turn on the MRI-safe feature on their own instead of having to rely on a technician.
“It gives the patient the opportunity to have total control,” Yoo told the newspaper. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
“I tell pacemaker patients, ‘It’s like having an angel on your shoulder, but it’s an angel in your shoulder.”
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