While Lue Camp sleeps at night, her new pacemaker updates her physician with information about her heart's rhythm via satellite.
 |
|
| Amar Singh, MD |
|
|
|
The John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital patient is the first in Arizona — and one of the first in the country — to use the new, all wireless Accent RF pacemaker, approved in July by the FDA.
The Accent RF (radio frequency) pacemaker also notifies her physician, Amar Singh, MD, FACC, of Cardiovascular Consultants, immediately of any unusual changes. The pacemaker provides automatic test results and complete diagnostics accessible from the patient's home over the Merlin.net Patient Care Network through the wireless device on her bedside table.
Between 3.5 and 5 million people in the United States have atrial fibrillation, an erratic and increased heart rate. The condition causes fatigue and shortness of breath and increases the risk of stroke and heart failure, Dr. Singh said.
Wireless Technology
|
  |
|
The Accent RF pacemaker and Merlin.@Home Transmitter |
|
|
A pacemaker regulates the heart's rhythm with electronic stimulation. But most pacemakers require trips to the physician's office for regular monitoring or a trip to the emergency room to monitor changes in a patient's heart rhythm, for example, if a patient suddenly feels dizzy.
Some pacemakers have been retrofitted to be wireless, and a wireless pacemaker has been in use in Germany, but the Accent RF is the first to be widely used in the United States designed with wireless technology from the beginning. "Wireless monitoring is more convenient for the patients because they don’t have to come into the office for routine device checks and monitoring," Dr. Singh said. "We also know about any unusual changes right away so patient monitoring – and patient care – is improved."
Monitoring Made Easy
Camp, 85, lives in Cottonwood, and Dr. Singh sees patients in Cottonwood and the Valley as part of Cardiovascular Consultant's expansion. Even the trip is an ordeal for Camp, who also has rheumatoid arthritis.
 |
|
| Lue Camp |
|
|
|
She had been taking beta blockers for her heart but continued to be fatigued and short of breath. The medication also caused her blood pressure to be too low. "Before the surgery, my mom was exhausted while doing nothing," said her daughter, Marlene Cordero. "The pacemaker has given her a steady beat and the shortness of breath has decreased to normal."
Camp had multiple careers, including a police dispatcher and an accountant while she lived near Mt. Shasta in California. She moved to Arizona in 1995 from California and lives with her daughter and her family.
Camp wasn't sure what to think about this newest technology from St. Jude Medical. She remembers the first satellite when her daughter was a baby. "I saw the Sputnik go across the sky," she said. "That's how long ago it was. It’s an amazing thing."
Cordero also appreciated the extra help and guidance from Deer Valley's patient advocates while her mother was in surgery and in the hospital. They kept her informed of her mother's progress during surgery and made sure family members had everything they needed. "They are really great. They just put you at ease and they are very informative," Cordero said. "The new patient advocate position is a noteworthy example of how John C. Lincoln cares for the patient."
Both John C. Lincoln Hospitals are accredited as Chest Pain Centers with PCI, the highest level of cardiac emergency care possible, and are certified as Cardiac Arrest Centers. Learn more at JCL.com/heart.
More in HealthBeat
This article appears in the November/December 2009 edition of HealthBeat, our bimonthly health newsletter.
|