Launceston Heart Clinic cardiologist Alex Jacobsen has performed his first his-bundle pacemaker therapy surgery

The surgery differs from traditional pacemaker surgeries in that it fixes the pacemaker electrode to the his-bundle part of the heart, the main conductor of energy for the left and right ventricle chambers.

The his-bundle is located underneath both left and right ventricle chambers of the heart.

Attaching the electrode to the his-bundle allows simultaneous contraction of the left and right ventricles, which more closely mimics the natural rhythm of the heart.

A fortnight ago cardiologist Alex Jacobsen performed the new technique on a patient from Flinders Island, which was the first time it was performed in Tasmania.

He said the technique was still relatively new and had only been performed in the US and some parts of mainland Australia.

“It’s only been done in Perth and in Melbourne in the past few months and before that people would have had to go overseas,” he said.

He said his patient had described an improvement in his endurance straight away.

“He’s a farmer so he told me he’s back moving equipment and has a lot more energy,” Dr Jacobsen said.

The surgery is done under local anaesthetic and sedation and requires the same recovery time as regular pacing surgery.

Each year there are 1600 new cases of heart failure diagnosed in Tasmania. Data from the Rediscovering Heart Failure report showed each year more women were diagnosed than men.

The data showed 889 women each year were diagnosed with heart failure compared to 711 men.

Of those 1600 new cases each year, about 267 will be readmitted to hospital for the disease.

Dr Jacobsen said Tasmania had some of the highest incidences of heart disease in the country.

However, the new technique will give a new option for those patients to have surgery at home.

He said the only potential side effects was the location of the electrode means it works a little harder than a traditional pacemaker.

“It means you need to replace the battery every eight to 10 years, rather than every 10 to 12,” he said.

There is an 80-85 per cent success rate for his-bundle pacing surgery but Dr Jacobsen said it was a complicated surgery.

“But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be doing it. We should be trying to do everything we can to ensure optimise our patients outcomes,” he said.

The next procedure is booked in for Thursday but Dr Jacobsen said after that there would be limited number of procedures because of a global supply shortage of the equipment needed for the surgery.