What is pacemaker insertion?
Why would a doctor recommend pacemaker insertion?
What does pacemaker insertion involve?
How long is the recovery after pacemaker insertion?
Wound Care for Pacemakers
and ICD Devices
What is pacemaker insertion?
An electronic pacemaker acts like your heart's natural pacemaker and keeps your heart beating regularly. The battery-operated device is about the size of a matchbox, and is placed under your skin during surgery. Sometimes a doctor will use a pacemaker outside a patient's body for temporary treatment.
A pacemaker has a pulse generator, which includes the battery and the electronics, and wire leads that are attached to your heart's walls. The device sends electrical signals to your heart when your heartbeat is too fast or slow.
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Why would a doctor recommend pacemaker insertion?
Electronic pacemakers are usually used in patients with an abnormal rhythm, or arrhythmia. Normally, the four chambers of the heart (two atria and two ventricles) beat in a very specific, coordinated manner. This beating is guided by an electrical impulse from the sinoatrial node, the body's natural pacemaker.
An arrhythmia occurs:
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When the sinoatrial node develops an abnormal rate or rhythm |
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When the normal pathway from the sinoatrial node to the heart is interrupted |
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When another part of the heart takes over as pacemaker |
Electronic pacemakers are most often used when a patient's heart beats too slowly (bradycardia). A doctor sometimes will recommend a pacemaker for a patient with tachycardia, or a rapid heart rate.
For patients with cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle), or congestive heart failure, a special biventricular pacemaker may be used in resynchronization therapy. This device helps make the heart's left and right bottom chambers (ventricles) more efficient.
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What does pacemaker insertion involve?
In most cases, the procedure takes about one hour. You will be awake for the surgery, but pain medication will keep the affected area numb and pain-free.
Your surgeon will first make a small incision near your left collarbone to create a small "pocket" under the skin. The surgeon will then use an X-ray to place the wire leads inside your heart.
The main part of the pacemaker—the pulse generator—goes into the pocket under the skin before it is stitched closed.
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How long is the recovery after a pacemaker insertion?
Most patients are able to return home one day after pacemaker insertion.
Although there are only a few devices in a normal environment that can harm the way a pacemaker works, the American Heart Association recommends that you always carry identification that says you have a pacemaker.
Wound Care for Pacemakers and ICD Devices
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