Image: Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation / The Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation says patients in the Fraser Valley who need implantable electrical devices like pacemakers no longer have to travel to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster or the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre Clinic. As of September, patients in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Langley and Hope can now have their treatment at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, becoming the third site in the province to offer remote monitoring services to Fraser Valley patients. Pictured are ARH staff with a patient as they showcase support for the pacemaker program launch in Abbotsford having had successful implantations.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Pacemaker program at Abbotsford Hospital

New pacemaker program at Abbotsford Hospital to bolster treatment for Fraser Valley patients

Oct 3, 2023 | 11:03 AM

ABBOTSFORD — The Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation says patients in the Fraser Valley who need implantable electrical devices like pacemakers no longer have to travel to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster or the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre Clinic in Surrey.

As of September, patients in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Langley and Hope can now have their treatment at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, becoming the third site in the province to offer services to Fraser Valley patients.

The health care foundation says pacemakers are recommended for people with conditions that cause the heart to beat abnormally. The average heart relies on neurotransmitters, as well as structures, within the heart to maintain pumping action required to circulate blood. With individuals that have irregular heart beats, or other cardiac conditions, the pumping action is limited, which is why a small electronic device is usually placed in the chest to help regulate the flow of blood.

Overseeing the pacemaker program is a large Fraser Health team. The team consists of members from the: operating room, anesthesiology, cardiac surgeons, cardiac team, diagnostic cardiology, medical imaging, surgical day care, PACU, triage office, and cardiac network leads. The operational team is under the leadership of Wendy Newson and Julie Dhaliwal, who are both directors of clinical operations, community and hospital).

Dhaliwal said, “The goal is to perform six cases a week at ARH with a total of 312 devices implanted per year. There will be potential to grow services as global funding becomes available to increase pacemaker implantable devices.”

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Eight regional implanters, cardiac surgeons, will join Dr. Rezazadeh in the operating room for Friday pacemaker implants. Dr. Bhugra, a cardiologist, helped kick off the celebration event held on September 22 at ARH for the cardiac team and others involved in helping with the program launch.

“Today is going to be the day we remember for many years to come, the first pacemaker implantations were successfully performed this morning…since this hospital has been opened,” Dr. Bhugra. “Since its inception, we have been sending all our permanent pacemakers to Jim Pattison Pavilion in Surrey and to Royal Columbian Hospital until today.”

Dhaliwal said this new service at ARH will provide hope, ease and efficiency in a time when the hospital is predicted to experience a significant percentage increase in cases by 2040.

The photos supplied by the foundation represent one of the hundreds of people in Canada who have had their lives improved thanks to a pacemaker.

“And this milestone is something we celebrate here today with the opening of the pacemaker program in Abbotsford where healing hearts remains the heart of the work,” the foundation stated in a news release.