Pacemakers

A heart arrhythmia is an abnormal or irregular heartbeat that occurs when the electrical signals that tell the heart to beat are not functioning properly. This results in a heartbeat that is too fast, too slow, or erratic. Patients may experience a fluttering, pounding, or racing heartbeat. There are two basic types of arrhythmias: an abnormally slow heart rate, or bradycardia (˂60 beats per minute[bpm]), or abnormally fast heart rate, tachycardia (˃100 bpm). While it is normal to have a fast or slow heartbeat during periods of exercise or deep sleep, heart arrhythmias can be life-threatening.

Pacemakers are small, implantable, battery-powered medical devices that sense cardiac rhythm and stimulate the heart with small electrical impulses to restore a normal rhythm in patients suffering from bradycardia and other rhythm or conduction issues (e.g, atrioventricular (AV) block, atrial fibrillation). Pacemakers help reduce symptoms resulting from lack of oxygen and nutrients due to poor blood flow, including fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, or fainting, and can be life-saving.

While estimates vary, up to 3 million people worldwide are living with a pacemaker, with more than 70% of all pacemakers implanted in patients over the age of 65. The number of pacemakers implanted has grown exponentially due to demographic trends, including the aging of the global population and rise in cardiovascular disease/arrhythmias.

Leadless pacemakers, such as those developed by Medtronic and Abbott, are the next generation of innovative, miniaturized pacing technology, and are driving healthy growth in the global pacemaker market. These smart devices feature highly sophisticated algorithms, secure attachment mechanisms, longer battery life, mapping, remote monitoring, and retrievability capabilities. Unlike traditional pacemakers, leadless pacing devices are implanted directly in the heart, and eliminate the leads that can result in infection, perforation, and other potentially dangerous complications.

In 2023, the global market for pacemakers (pacing devices/leads and related products) totaled nearly $4.5bn and is expected to grow at a healthy mid-single-digit rate over the forecast period.

Market drivers include: a large and growing global elderly population prone to cardiac rhythm disorders, ongoing technical improvements, increased adoption of innovative pacemaker technologies (e.g., leadless pacemakers), and several other factors. Factors limiting market growth include: high device cost, device/surgical risks, lack of access to skilled surgeons, ongoing macroeconomic factors, and other factors.

This analysis includes a discussion of products, current revenues and forecast markets, competitors, and opportunities in the global market for implantable pacemakers; revenues include sales derived from: battery-powered implantable pacemaker devices (or implantable pulse generators/IPGs), including traditional and next-generation leadless pacemakers, as well as implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker devices (CRT-Ps), stimulation leads, remote monitoring software/mobile apps, and other related products/accessories.

Countries covered by this report include the US, five major European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK), Japan, and the Rest of World. The forecast range for this report is 2023–28.

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Related Medtech Insight articles:

• Cardio Catch-up: Abbott Plans to Expand Pacemaker Market with Leadless Avier DR
• Minute Insight: Medtronic Counters Abbott with New Micra Leadless Pacemakers
• News We’re Watching: Self-Powered Pacemakers, Artificial Hearts, and More

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