A new type of pacemaker is now available for implantation at Dearborn County Hospital.  This new device, the Revo MRI™ SureScan® pacing system, is the first MR-conditional pacing system designed, tested and FDA approved for use with magnetic resonance imaging.

Patients with traditional implanted pacemakers are not candidates for magnetic resonance imaging.  Potentially serious complications could occur if a patient with a traditional pacemaker were scanned using an MRI.  These complications include the stopping or increasing of the pace timing of the pacemaker, dislodgement of the pacemaker or its leads, or damage to the pacemaker necessitating its replacement.

“The use of magnetic resonance imaging has grown greatly in recent years,” explained James N. Muth, M.D., Ph.D., a Board Certified Cardiologist on the Medical Staff of Dearborn County Hospital.  “Many diagnostic procedures, both invasive and noninvasive, have been replaced or enhanced through the use of magnetic resonance imaging.  While MRI is still preferred for musculoskeletal imaging, its use has expanded to include high value scans for almost all organs and systems including the heart. 

“As MRIs become more important in diagnosing illness or trauma from injury, the need for individuals to have MRI compatible pacemakers increases. Given the opportunity, it only makes sense for an individual requiring a pacemaker to be implanted with one designed for MR-conditional pacing.”

Most pacemakers are implanted in patients diagnosed with bradycardia, also known as slow heart rate.  In the majority of cases, bradycardia can be easily diagnosed by a Cardiologist through the use of one or more noninvasive tests.  The primary symptoms of bradycardia are dizziness, fainting, fatigue and shortness of breath, however, not all individuals experience these symptoms.

A pacemaker is a small device that is implanted under the skin of the chest which continuously monitors an individual’s heart rate.  If the heart’s beating slows beyond a predetermined rate or becomes irregular, the pacemaker sends a small electrical charge to the heart to help restore it to the proper rhythm.

Implanting the pacemaker takes about an hour and is performed in the DCH Cardiovascular Lab.  During the procedure a small “pocket” for the pacemaker is formed under the skin, usually near the collarbone on either the right or left side of the chest. One or two tiny leads from the pacemaker are then threaded through a vein into the heart.  Most patients remain in the hospital for 24 to 48 hours following the procedure to ensure that the pacemaker is working properly and that there are no complications at the implantation site.

MR-conditional pacemakers are implanted at Dearborn County Hospital by Dr. Muth.  An Ohio native, Dr. Muth completed his undergraduate training at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, before earning a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  The last three years of this postgraduate training included a National Institutes of Health Training grant in Cardiovascular Biology.  He then continued his education at St. George’s University in Grenada where he earned his Medical Degree.  Dr. Muth then completed a three year Internal Medicine Residency at West Virginia University in Morgantown before completing a three year Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship and a one year Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship, both at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases.

Dr. Muth works at Dearborn County Hospital in association with Board Certified Cardiologists Dr. Ashok Penmetsa and Dr. Jeffrey Striet.  His office is located in Suite 410 of the Dearborn County Hospital Professional Building, 606 Wilson Creek Road, Lawrenceburg.  For more information or an appointment with Doctors Muth, Penmetsa or Striet, please call the Cardiology office at 812-539-4722.