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Whose Invention Was the Cardiac Pacemaker?

medicinetechnology

Quick Answer

Wilson Greatbatch invented the first implantable cardiac pacemaker in 1958.

The Full Story

American engineer Wilson Greatbatch accidentally discovered the principle of the implantable pacemaker in 1956 while building an oscillator to record heart sounds — a wiring error produced electrical pulses similar to the heart's rhythm. By 1958 he had built a working prototype, and the first successful implant was performed in 1960 by surgeon William Chardack. Earlier, Swedish engineer Rune Elmqvist built the first pacemaker implanted in a patient (Arne Larsson) in 1958, though it failed after three hours. Today about 1 million pacemakers are implanted annually.

Key Facts

1.Arne Larsson, the first Swedish pacemaker recipient, outlived both his surgeon and the pacemaker inventor, dying in 2001 at 86.
2.Modern pacemakers last 5–15 years on a single battery.
3.Leadless pacemakers, small enough to be implanted via catheter, were introduced in the 2010s.

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"The Accidental Invention That Saves Millions — The Pacemaker Story"

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