{"id":19126,"date":"2019-05-13T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugaresearch.uga.edu\/?p=19126"},"modified":"2025-04-18T12:50:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T16:50:21","slug":"pacemakers-for-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/pacemakers-for-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"Navicent Health, UGA partner on pacemakers for dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Thank you for considering to make a donation to the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Your generous contributions will directly support our mission to advance animal health, education, and research. Please provide the requested information at\u00a0UGA In-Kind Donation Form<\/a>\u00a0so that a member of our team can follow up with you to confirm your donation request and any specific instructions or arrangements that may be required. Together, we can make a meaningful impact on the future of veterinary medicine.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Man\u2019s best friend now has access to a much-needed medical device, thanks to a partnership between\u00a0The Medical Center, Navicent Health<\/a>, or MCNH, and the University of Georgia\u2019s\u00a0College of Veterinary Medicine<\/a>. The partners\u2019 Pacemaker Donation Program provides heart patients at MCNH the option of donating their used pacemakers to canine heart patients at UGA.<\/p>\n

\"Cooper,
Cooper, a husky-malamute mix from Athens, Georgia, was one of the first to receive a pacemaker through the UGA-Navicent Health Pacemaker Donation Program. His family reports that he is doing well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like humans, dogs are at risk for developing cardiac complications that can interfere with length and quality of life. Knowing that surgeries to address heart problems in dogs can be very expensive, one Navicent Health nurse decided to take action to help dogs in need of cardiac care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe similarities between how animals and humans are treated for certain diseases are very strong. When I was studying to become a nurse 20 years ago, I learned that pacemakers for human beings could be utilized in dogs, as well,\u201d said Terri Matula, a board-certified cardiovascular nurse at MCNH.<\/p>\n

At the time, Matula owned a cocker spaniel that suffered from third-degree heart block dysrhythmia. She knew that pacemaker implantation might be a solution to help her dog live a longer and healthier life, but as a student, she did not have the means to pay for the operation. That memory came to Matula\u2019s mind when her husband, Robert Driver, needed to have his own pacemaker upgraded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked his cardiology team if I could keep the pacemaker after they replaced it and then called the University of Georgia to find out if I could donate the device to the College of Veterinary Medicine,\u201d said Matula.<\/p>\n

Matula felt confident that the experts at UGA would be able to make good use of the pacemaker. Her instincts were right. After learning that she could donate her husband\u2019s pacemaker for a dog in need of the device, she presented her idea to the cardiac administration team at MCNH, connecting them with experts from UGA. Her recommendation has launched a thriving collaboration between MCNH and UGA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a patient\u2019s pacemaker is exchanged, upgraded or replaced, the patient is offered the option of donating their used device to the Pacemaker Donation Program. Everyone\u2014our staff and our patients\u2014has been excited to save the lives of animals with reusable devices,\u201d said Beth Mann, vice president for cardiovascular services and nursing strategy at Navicent.<\/p>\n

Since the inception of the Pacemaker Donation Program in 2018, 41 pacemakers have been donated for patients at UGA. Once the pacemakers are explanted at MCNH, they are sterilized and shipped to UGA. Only the pacemakers of living donors are used for the program. Many of the pacemakers have at least five and a half years of battery life remaining, offering aging dogs the opportunity for many more evening walks and games of fetch. The pacemakers with less battery life are useful as teaching tools in the classroom for UGA\u2019s veterinary students.<\/p>\n