Each year we hold our annual pacemaker clinic patient education conference. This year the theme was biological pacing, an area of intense interest with our patient families. It seems that we are in the midst of a medical evolution with emerging developments in molecular and genetics research leading to a potential future of “personalized medicine”. Is the timing ripe to let our patients learn about this? Are we possibly opening up false hopes or unrealistic expectations?

Attempts and interest in biologic pacing began in the 1960s as researchers attempted sinus node transplants, followed by discovery of the pacemaker current (known as "If" or "funny current") in the 1980s, to the use of human mesenchymal cells to transfer pacemaker genes to the heart cells in early 2000. Dr. Michael Rosen served as the keynote speaker on "Biological Pacing: Dream or Reality" at our patient conference. As Dr. Michael Rosen puts it, "We’ll get there if we keep at it!"

Hope is that desire when we want something that we can’t get now but with a belief that there is a chance of getting it in the future. Sometimes it may become an obsession, but life must be filled with hope and optimism: it’s the strength that keeps us going day to day, the belief that we will get what we want if we keep at it and believe in it.

It is good to hope.

Reference
1. Rosen MR, Brink PR, Cohen IS, Robinson RB. The Utility of Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Biological Pacemakers. (Accessed Nov 7, 2010) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-7133.2008.08379.x/pdf

2. 9th Annual Pacing Buddies Conference - Jumping Genes to Wireless Pacing. (Accessed Nov 7, 2010)
http://www.cvent.com/Events/info/Summary.aspx?e=4D1DC3A8-4D50-4D3C-BC4C-...

Christine C. Chiu, MSc CCDS CEPS FHRS is the EP Pacemaker Technologist at The Labatt Family Heart Centre of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.