Pacemakers are designed to compensate for a condition known as bradycardia, where the heart beats too slowly to provide sufficient amounts of oxygen to the body. To allow patients with pacemakers installed to continue healthy pursuits like exercise, a company called Boston Scientific is introducing a new line with a feature called RightRate technology that monitors respiration and adjusts the pacing accordingly.
It’s widely assumed that the need for a pacemaker is tied to old age, and while the risk of developing bradycardia does increase as you get older, it doesn’t necessarily only turn up in senior citizens. And until now, younger patients with the condition would find themselves tiring when their level of physical activity increased, because the steady pulse of their pacemakers wouldn’t pump enough blood to keep up with their added oxygen use.
So, the new technology, included in Boston Scientific’s Inliven, Vitalio and Formio pacemakers, will allow younger patients to continue their active lifestyles, without having to constantly stop and wait for their bodies to catch with their increased activity. [Boston Scientific via medGagdet]