When triple bypass patient Abraham Morales went in for surgery he was unaware he would be a part of history. "Oh I feel great I'm happy."
Morales is the first person to successfully have a state of the art pacemaker implanted in Kern County. The Revo MRI Surescan Pacing System is now available at San Joaquin Community Hospital and is the first and only pacemaker in the Unites States specifically designed for use in a magnetic reasonance imaging system, or MRI.
The MRI is the state of the art imaging and it has better imaging and specificity so the patient can be better diagnosed.
Before the introduction of this breakthrough pacemaker MRI procedures for patients with implanted pacemakers was virtually non existent because of the serious consequences and complications for the patient.
"It's almost like a biopsy we used to do cat scans and the only way to make a diagnosis is to do surgery. Now the tissue characteristics tell us specifically what we have most of the time 90 percent of the time."
This new cutting edge technology allows heart patients like Abraham Morales who need a pacemaker to feel more confident knowing future diagnostic options are not limited. Peace of mind for many local families.
"This is great it takes a lot of relief knowing he's in better hands now."
It's estimated that after the age of 65, 85 percent of pacemaker patients will need an MRI with this new technology at San Joaquin Community Hospital that need for the community has been filled.
