In a first, 15-year-old patient gets leadless pacemaker at PGI

In a first for North India, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research implanted a leadless pacemaker in a young adolescent patient.

The patient, a 15-year-old girl, was suffering from congenital complete heart block, a condition that interrupts the heart’s normal rhythm and can cause fatigue, dizziness, and in severe cases, sudden cardiac arrest. The device implanted was the MicraTranscatheter Pacing System.

The procedure was carried out by Saurabh Mehrotra, senior cardiologist at PGI under the supervision of head of the department Yash Paul Sharma.

“This marks a significant advancement in the way we manage rhythm disorders in young patients. Leadless pacemakers offer a safer, less invasive option with fewer long-term complications,” said Mehrotra.

Unlike traditional pacemakers, which require a chest incision, and wires (leads) threaded through blood vessels into the heart, the Micra device was inserted through a catheter via the femoral vein in the thigh and fixed directly inside the heart.

While leadless pacemakers have been in use in adults, their application in young patient remains rare due to anatomical and long-term considerations, but recent studies have shown encouraging outcomes.

“With this milestone, PGI offers new hope to patients with complex heart rhythm disorders,” said Sharma.