Micra Pacemaker | OSF HealthCare

The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System is the world’s smallest pacemaker for bradycardia - slow or irregular heart rate - management.

The Micra is comparable to the size of a large vitamin capsule, which is almost 93 percent smaller than a standard pacemaker.

It has an average battery life of 12 years because of its low-power circuit design.

Who Can Benefit from the Micra Pacemaker? 

Micra is for patients who suffer from bradycardia and require a single chamber pacemaker.

What is Bradycardia?

Bradycardia is a type of slow heartbeat. A special group of cells in the sinoatrial node (SA) located in the right atrium of the heart begin the signal to start your heartbeat.

Normally, the SA node fires the signal at about 60 to 100 times per minute at rest.

In bradycardia, the node fires less than 60 times per minute, which causes a lack of blood to pump to the rest of the body.

How is the Micra Placed in the Heart?

The Micra procedure uses a unique, catheter-based delivery system that doesn’t require open-heart surgery.

Making a small incision in your upper right thigh, the delivery system is inserted into the femoral vein and travels to your heart.

The pacemaker is placed in the right ventricle while the heart continues to beat by griping the heart with tines – small nitinol wires.

If your doctor doesn’t like where the Micra is positioned within the heart, the pacemaker can be pulled back into the catheter and be repositioned.

Once the Micra is placed, it helps restore a normal rhythm to your heart.

The less invasive pacemaker implantation provides a faster recovery time than open-heart pacemaker implantation.

Most patients leave the hospital in an average of one day and can resume all normal activities within seven days of the procedure.

How Can I Find Out if the Micra Pacemaker is Right for Me?

Talk to your primary care provider or call the OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute at (800) 589-2867.