NEW FLEXIBLE PACEMAKER CAN WIN YOUR HEART MACHINE ADJUSTS RATE TO BODY MOVEMENTS.(Local)

Byline: Peter Wehrwein Staff writer

You might say that this pacemaker watches every little move you make.

It is called the Synchrony Pacemaker and with a tiny oscillating crystal, the machine can sense the smallest body movement and adjust the heart rate accordingly.

Most pacemakers now in use pace the heart at a fixed rate of 70 beats per minute.

Doctors at Memorial Hospital in Albany held a news conference Tuesday to talk about the new pacemaker, which is still experimental, and two patients who had it implanted there last week, Ora Adkins, 67, of Latham and Margaret Mulroy, 51, of Loudonville.

Dr. Isidro Bulato performed the surgery nd Dr. John D. Bennett has been providing care as a cardiologist.

Because the pacemaker responds to body movement, it allows patients to participate in "even the most strenuous activities," including jogging and dancing, according to the hospital.

Bennett said for active people, the movement- sensitive pacemaker could replace the fixed-rate models. At $6,000, it is only several hundred dollars more expensive, he said.

Single-chamber pacemakers that vary in rate already are available, Bennett said, adding that 30 percent of all patients who need pacemakers need only a single-chamber model.

This pacemaker is a dual-chamber pacemaker - regulating both the upper and lower chambers of the heart.

More than 600 patients have participated in the federal Food and Drug Administration trials of the pacemaker, Bennett said. The trials are in their last phase and the pacemaker should be on the market soon, he said.

The Synchrony pacemaker also comes with a tabletop computer. In space-aged fashion, a module hooked up to the computer can be used outside the body to monitor the pacemaker and control 28 different pacings functions.

Pacesetter Systems Inc., a division of the German-based Siemens Co., is the manufacturer of the new pacemaker.

NEW FLEXIBLE PACEMAKER CAN WIN YOUR HEART MACHINE ADJUSTS RATE TO BODY MOVEMENTS.(Local)

Byline: Peter Wehrwein Staff writer

You might say that this pacemaker watches every little move you make.

It is called the Synchrony Pacemaker and with a tiny oscillating crystal, the machine can sense the smallest body movement and adjust the heart rate accordingly.

Most pacemakers now in use pace the heart at a fixed rate of 70 beats per minute.

Doctors at Memorial Hospital in Albany held a news conference Tuesday to talk about the new pacemaker, which is still experimental, and two patients who had it implanted there last week, Ora Adkins, 67, of Latham and Margaret Mulroy, 51, of Loudonville.

Dr. Isidro Bulato performed the …