CNN — More than 20 years ago, Terri Mattula's dog Gator passed out while her husband was walking him. They took Gator to the vet and learned he had a third-degree heart block and needed a pacemaker.

A system that allows physicians to manage Bluetooth-enabled pacemaker devices using an app on an Apple iPad has been approved by the FDA, medical technology maker Medtronic announced on May 2. The ...