Anantnag: Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag has made history as the first institution worldwide to complete 50 Left Bundle Branch Area (LBB-A) pacing procedures using a C-arm system, a groundbreaking achievement accomplished without Electrophysiology (EP) backup.
As per the details collected by the news agency JKNS under the guidance of Principal Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb, the GMC Anantnag cardiology team—Dr. Syed Maqbool, Dr. Shamim Iqbal, and Dr. Showkat Hussain Shah—achieved this milestone in just four months, overcoming numerous challenges.
Officials from GMC Anantnag said, the initiative began in September 2024, with the aim of replacing conventional pacemaker implantation with LBB-A pacing. Conventional pacemakers, which place leads in the right ventricular (RV) apex or septum, can cause Pacemaker-Induced Cardiomyopathy (PIM) in 10–20% of patients within 3–4 years, potentially leading to heart failure, recurrent hospitalizations, or even death.
They said, LBB-A pacing offers a safer alternative, targeting the heart’s natural conduction system rather than the RV muscle, thereby eliminating these complications. Since its introduction in 2017, the technology has been widely adopted globally, including in institutions across India and Jammu and Kashmir.
“While most institutions perform LBB-A pacing in cath labs with EP guidance, GMC Anantnag is unique for conducting these procedures without EP backup, using a C-arm system. It is also the leading institution in Jammu and Kashmir for the number of LBB-A procedures performed,” they said.
In the meanwhile, GMC Anantnag treated a diverse range of patients, including those with complete heart block, sick sinus syndrome, Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), Left Bundle Branch Block (LBBB), and even Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). The team achieved a 95% success rate with no mortality across 50 cases, despite resource constraints and the lack of a dedicated cath lab.
Moreover, Principal GMC Anantnag, Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb while talking to news agency JKNC, supported the initiative from its inception, demonstrating her commitment to advancing superspecialty healthcare in South Kashmir.
Congratulating the team, she said, “Historically, pacing from the RV apex has been the standard approach to treat patients with bradyarrhythmia. However, the long-term complications of this method have led to the development of conduction system pacing, which mimics natural heart rhythms.”
Dr. Najeeb further said the challenges of performing such procedures without a dedicated cath lab or EP systems, relying instead on a primitive C-arm system and ECG guidance.
“All patients treated under this program are doing well and are under regular follow-up,” she added.—(JKNS)
