New study achieves biological pacemaker breakthrough

A team in the US have for the first time ever created a biological pacemaker using minimally invasive methods that can support the demands of daily life.

Cardiologists at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have developed a minimally invasive gene transplant procedure that transforms unspecialised heart cells into pacemaker cells that can keep the heart beating steadily.

Laboratory pigs with complete heart block were injected with a gene called TBX18. Within two days, they had significantly faster heartbeats than pigs who did not receive the gene, which persisted for the duration of the 14-day study.

This is also the first study to reprogramme a heart cell in a living animal to effectively cure a disease. It suggests that biological pacemaker cells could be used as more than a temporary bridge therapy.

Research team leader Dr Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, said: "These results show us that with more research, we might be able to develop a long-lasting biological treatment for patients."

Pacemaker implantation is one of the most common types of heart surgery carried out in the UK, with more than 40,000 people having a device fitted during 2012-13 in England.