Who We Serve

Every year, thousands of Peruvians die from remediable cardiovascular ailments because they cannot afford or access even the most basic medical care. Lifebeat Peru's mission since 2012 is to make as big of a difference as possible by providing cardiac care. With over 10 years of pacemaker donations from Medtronic and Boston Scientific, hundreds of Peruvians once facing terminal heart conditions can now live healthy lives without any financial burden.

Each year, Hospital Dos de Mayo compiles a list of the patients that most urgently require pacemakers or defibrillators and are also least able to afford this treatment. The usual pacemaker recipient comes from Barrios Altos in Lima and typically plays a crucial role in supporting their own family, a crucial factor in why they need emergency intervention. However, patients also come from all over Peru---in one case, a recipient bravely traveled 3 days by boat, bus, and on foot to arrive at Dos de Mayo.

The average Lifebeat pacemaker recipient typically suffers from heart block, a condition in which electrical cardiac signals are partially to completely lost through decreased function of the atrioventricular node. As a result, the average Lifebeat's heart rate is typically in the 20-30 BPM range. This is not life sustaining, and as a result, they require the immediate implantation of a life-saving pacemaker or defibrillator. However, patients also suffer from a wide array of arrhythmias and related comorbidities that require medical attention.