VOA常速英语:Tiny Pacemakers Could Be Game Changers for Heart Patients

A healthy heart has its own pacemaker that establishes its rhythm, but some people need the help of an artificial pacemaker.“My heart does not beat regular, it skips beats and sometimes it’s normal, and then it get all sudden just goes out of rhythm.”At Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center,Trejo became one of the first patients in the United States to have a pacemaker that’s only 24 millimeters long implanted in her heart. This device is one-tenth the size of traditional pacemakers. Most pacemakers rely on batteries placed under the skin that use wire leads with electrodes on one end to connect to the heart.This tiny pacemaker simplifies that.
一颗健康的心脏有自己的起搏器来确定它的节奏，但是有些人则需要人工起搏器的帮助。我的心脏跳动没有规律，它会跳过节拍，有时它是正常的，然后突然就会失去节奏。在俄亥俄州立大学的Wexner医疗中心，特雷霍成为美国首位植有长达24毫米长的心脏起搏器的患者之一。该装置的尺寸是传统起搏器尺寸的十分之一。大多数心脏起搏器都依赖于置于皮肤下的电池，这种电池使用导线电极，一端连接到心脏。这个微型心脏起搏器简化了这一点。
“The electrodes are part of the can, and therefore it eliminates the lead.”Ralph Augostini implanted Trejo’s pacemaker. He threaded the entire device through an artery in her leg up to heart. The pacemaker has small tines that anchor it into the folds of the heart muscle.Some doctors have called the device revolutionary.
电极是起搏器的一部分，也因此不会出现导线感染的问题。拉尔夫·奥古斯汀为特雷霍做了移植起搏器的手术。他将整个装置通过一条腿上的动脉穿入心脏。起搏器有小的尖头，可以将其固定在心脏肌肉的褶皱处。一些医生称这种设备是革命性的。
“We don’t leave any wires behind and the pacemaker, the battery, the wire is all just a tiny little piece of metal sitting down in the heart.”
我们不会留下任何电线，起搏器，电池，电线都集中在心脏里的一小片金属上。
Because no surgery is required to place a battery under the skin, as with traditional percutaneous pacemakers.And there are no leads traveling from the battery to the heart. There are fewer complications, leads are the weakest part of traditional devices.
因为在皮肤下放置电池是不需要手术的，就像传统的经皮心脏起搏器一样。从电池到心脏都没有导线。并发症很少，引线是传统设备最薄弱的部分。
“The complication rates in general for a leadless pacemaker to date have been about half what a traditional percutaneous pacemaker would have.”
迄今为止无导起搏器的并发症发生率约为传统经皮心脏起搏器的一半。
Studies show that the micro pacemaker used by medical centers at Ohio State in Missouri is more than 95percent effective.The battery can lasts for 14 years and after that, doctors can implant another one into the same chamber of the heart and repeat it third time if needed. These tiny pacemakers are not right for all patients, but as the technology develops, doctors expect more people will be able to use them. As for Mary Lou Trejo, four years after getting the new pacemaker, her doctors say she’s doing fine.
研究表明，在俄亥俄州密苏里医疗中心使用的微型心脏起搏器有效率超过百分之95。这种起搏器的电池可以维持14年，之后，医生可以重新在同心腔移植新的起搏器，如果有需要，可以进行第三次移植。这种微型心脏起搏器并不适用于所有心脏病患者，但是随着科技发展，医生们希望它可以为更多人服务。像玛丽·罗·特雷霍，她移植这种新型起搏器已经有四年时间，她的主治医生说情况良好。
Carol Pearson VOA News Washington.
VOA记者卡罗尔·皮尔森华盛顿报道。