Oklahoma Teen Receives New Type of Pacemaker from Oklahoma Heart Institute

A Green Country teen is starting to get his energy back after getting a pacemaker earlier this year. Hunter Parrick, 17, is one of the youngest people in Oklahoma to undergo a new type of surgery called "his-bundle pacing."

Parrick experienced a scary medical episode at work in January 2020. 

"Out of nowhere it was just a small little pain that slowly increased in my chest," he said. What he thought was a pulled muscle turned out to be much worse when he suddenly fell to the floor. Parrick's mother, Debbie, thought her son was having a heart attack. 

An ambulance took Hunter to Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa where he learned the issue wasn't a heart attack, but a pacemaker problem. Parrick had gotten one put in at a different medical facility in the summer of 2019, but it failed, which caused him to feel intense chest pain.

"This happened because his heart was being paced all the time. The pacemaker was working continuously," said Dr. Siva Soma with the Oklahoma Heart Institute. 

While most people think of pacemakers for older adults, they can also be found in younger people like Parrick. He was born with a complete congenital heart block, which is when electrical activity in the heart's top chamber doesn't go to the bottom chamber. Parrick didn't find out about the condition until he went in for ear surgery when he was 10 years old, but doctors wanted to wait until he was older to put in a pacemaker.

When that pacemaker failed after 8 months, Parrick found himself back in the hospital -- only to get a newer, and better one.

Doctor Soma performed Parrick's surgery and said this newer type of pacemaker is much more effective. "The pacemaker wire is placed very close to the electrical system of the heart. This means that the wire is placed where the activation of the heart happens in a more natural way."

The only difference is the placement of the wires; a small change that makes a huge difference.

Oklahoma Heart Institute started doing "his-bundle pacing" in 2017 and is one of the few facilities in the country where it's done on a regular basis. Since it allows the heart to operate in a more natural way, patients shouldn't see any issues like they might with a traditional pacemaker.

Doctor Soma said Parrick should now be able to live a normal life and not feel fatigued like before, and five months post-surgery Parrick agrees. "It feels like I have more energy to go run a mile. I don't really have the pain in my chest like I did."