Leadless pacemaker: past, present and future

Abstract

Since the first pacemaker implants more than six decades ago, the field of cardiac pacing has been constantly evolving. Transvenous pacemakers (PM) have been a fundamental tool for treating heart rhythm disorders. However, they are related to different acute and chronic complications, mainly due to the need for a subcutaneous pocket and transvenous leads. In a quest to reduce the rate of these complications, since 2012, the first leadless pacemakers (LP) started to be developed, and have proven to be a safe and effective alternative to conventional pacemakers in the different pivotal studies published to date. In this article, we review this novel and promising technology, including its evolution, current indication, description of the implant procedure, the different models available, limitations, and future development.