New Heart Technology

heart patient stories technology / March 22, 2018

On January 30, 2018, Dr. D.V. Patel, cardiologist at NEA Baptist, utilized the first Bluetooth® enabled pacemaker at NEA Baptist to help regulate the heart of his patient, Matthew Rollins.  The Azure Pacemaker by Medtronic is one of the newest pieces of technology used in heart care to help control abnormal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias.

Matthew Rollins is a 68 year old retiree who is active in church and enjoys being a great grandpa.  Mr. Rollins has been a patient of cardiologist, Dr. D.V. Patel for more than 13 years and in 2007, he experienced a heart event which resulted in stents. Following that procedure, Mr. Rollins quit smoking and has been very active. He acknowledged that, “The hard part has been slowing down. I’ve been very active the past several years and I never saw this coming.”

In January 2018, Mr. Rollins was at NEA Baptist for an appointment and his heart arrhythmia was discovered. Dr. Patel had recently been educated on the new pacemaker technology and proposed that he utilize the pacemaker for Mr. Rollins. When asked how he felt being the first patient at NEA Baptist and one of the first in the state of Arkansas, Mr. Rollins responded, “I was really excited! I thought it was great when I learned that the doctor can know, before I can even physically tell, that something is going on. I told him, ‘Let’s go for it!’”

Dr. Patel added, “I am always looking and learning about the new technology that could benefit our patients. I want to provide them the best heart care and treatments possible. Staying up-to-date on all that is available is one way that I can do that.”

At the end of January, Mr. Rollins came in for the procedure, which went well. He was back for a follow-up appointment the next week and was very impressed by his entire experience the week before. He stated, “This has been a great experience! The whole team here has been great and I appreciate Dr. Patel. I feel like a bionic man.”

The Azure Pacemaker by Medtronic is redesigned with BlueSync™ technology for secure, wireless communication via Bluetooth® low energy. Utilizing this new technology, clinicians can program the device to send secure notifications. The technology has also prove to detect and reduce atrial fibrillation (AF), the quivering or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. Testing has shown that design of the technology accurately detects AF and can even reduce false positives. All data collected by the device is protected by enhanced security with data encryption and pacemaker protection.

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