The world’s first MRI-compatible pacemaker is being implanted at Semmelweis University’s Heart Centre. This new technology, considered a major breakthrough in the field of cardiovascular therapy, has been available in Hungary since February 2010. Implantations are currently being performed at 15 accredited pacemaker centres across the country.
There are approximately 35,000 people living with pacemakers in Hungary today, the majority of whom are over 65 years old— an age at which the chance of needing an MRI examination doubles. Until now, patients with pacemakers had been unable to undergo such examinations, as the powerful magnetic waves generated by the MRI machines run the risk of damaging the pacemaker and the tissues that surround it.
Semmelweis University’s Heart Centre is one of the most important pacemaker centres in Hungary, performing the greatest number of implantations per year in the whole nation. Nearly 100 “new generation” pacemakers have already been implanted at the Centre.
(Translated by Gina Gönczi)
