Arne H. W. Larsson, 86; Had First Internal Pacemaker (original) (raw)

Jan. 18, 2002

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January 18, 2002

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Arne H. W. Larsson, a Swedish engineer who in 1958 received the world's first implanted heart pacemaker, has died in Stockholm. He was 86.

A variety of pacemakers triggered Mr. Larsson's last billion heart beats, making him a medical marvel and a pioneer in one of the great triumphs of cardiology and electronic engineering. An estimated 3 million people, including about 1.5 million Americans, from newborns to centenarians, now use pacemakers.

Mr. Larsson died at his home near Stockholm on Dec. 28 of melanoma skin cancer that he developed two years ago, his wife, Else-Marie, said. His death was not announced until this week.

In 1958, scarring from a viral infection had disrupted the normal electrical circuit that linked his heart's chambers, and Mr. Larsson's heart could no longer contract synchronously. The heart beat as slowly as 28 times a minute, causing decreased blood flow to the brain and producing potentially fatal fainting spells, known as Stokes-Adams attacks.

During some periods, his wife and aides rescuscitated him by thumping on his chest 20 to 30 times a day, and his doctors at the Karolinska Institute did not know which attack would be his last.

The only pacemakers then were large, stationary machines for temporary use. Dr. Ake Senning, a heart surgeon, and Dr. Rune Elmquist, an engineer at Elema-Schonander electronics company, were trying to use silicon transistors, then new devices, to build a battery-powered implantable pacemaker. They did not consider their experimental model ready for human use, but with each her husband's fainting spells, Mrs. Larsson pleaded, ''Make one.''

The two scientists rigged a device about the size of a thin hockey puck, and on Oct. 8, 1958, Dr. Senning cut open Mr. Larsson's chest to implant it. Eight hours later, the pacemaker failed. Dr. Senning then implanted the only backup, one with batteries that had to be recharged every few hours. The pacemaker worked, on and off, for three years.

Subsequently, Mr. Larsson underwent 25 operations and procedures to replace pacemakers that failed for one reason or another and to receive newer devices that were smaller, smarter, safer and more durable and versatile. Implanting a pacemaker no longer requires the chest surgery that Mr. Larsson underwent.

The devices allowed Mr. Larsson to fly around the world supervising the repair of electrical systems aboard ships. He outlived Dr. Enquist, who died in 1996, and Dr. Senning, who died in 2000.

A correction was made on

Jan. 19, 2002

An obituary yesterday about Arne H. W. Larsson, a Swedish engineer who in 1958 received the world's first implanted heart pacemaker, misspelled the surname of an inventor of the device. He was Rune Elmquist, not Enquist.

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