Overview of Procedure

A heart pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device that senses when your heart is beating irregularly or too slowly. The heart pacemaker sends a signal to your heart to make sure it beats at the correct pace.

Cardiac pacemakers can weigh as little as 1 ounce and has 2 parts which consist of the generator, which has the battery and the information to control the heartbeat. The second, are wires that connect the heart to the generator and carry the electrical messages to the heart.


The Right Candidates

Pacemakers may be used for people who have heart problems that cause their heart to beat too slowly.  Two common problems that cause a slow heartbeat are heart block and sinus node disease.

Some, pacemakers can be used to stop a heart rate that is too fast (tachycardia) or that is irregular.

Other types of pacemakers can be used in for those who have severe heart failure. These are called bi-ventricular pacemakers. They match up the beating of both sides of the heart.

Risks & Side Effects

Few activities interrupt the signals sent by the pacemaker to the heart. Follow your doctor's specific instructions about care and precautions if you have a pacemaker.

Some cardiac pacemaker risks include:

• Puncture of the heart
• Bleeding
• Difficulty breathing
• Irregular heart rhythms
• Infection
• Blood clot
• Pacemaker malfunction

 

Surgery

A pacemaker must be implanted under the skin. This procedure usually takes about 1 hour. A small incision is made, usually on the left side of the chest below your collarbone.

The pacemaker generator is then placed under the skin.Using live x-rays to see the area, the doctor puts the leads through the incision, into a vein, and then into the heart. The leads are connected to the generator. The skin is then closed with stitches.

Most patientsn may be able to go home within one day of the procedure.

There are two kinds of pacemakers:

• transcutaneous
• transvenous

These pacemakers are used only in medical emergencies. They are not permanent.

Recovery

Most people can go home 1 or 2 days after having a pacemaker implanted and can return to normal activities within 2 weeks. You should avoid driving or participating in vigorous physical activity that involves the upper body for several weeks after having a pacemaker implanted.

Historically, pacemakers have been used to treat slow heart rates by sensing whether the heart rate falls below a certain rate and then pacing the heart to increase it to a set rate. However, newer rate-responsive pacemakers can alter the heart rate to a faster or slower rate based on your activity.

A pacemaker is always needed after AV node ablation (destruction of the AV node). After this procedure, the pacemaker is needed to generate a normal heart rhythm.


Results

After your pacemaker is placed it will then stimulate your  heart to speed up when it beats too slowly or reset the rate when your heart beats too fast.