Pacemaker

Although it weighs just about an ounce, a pacemaker contains a powerful battery, electronic circuits and computer memory that together generate electronic signals. The signals, or pacing pulses, are carried along thin, insulated wires, or leads, to the heart muscle. The signals cause the heart muscle to begin the contractions that cause a heartbeat.

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Key Points

• A pacemaker is a small device that's placed under the skin of your chest or abdomen to help control irregular heartbeats. This device uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate.

• Pacemakers are used to treat heart rhythms that are too slow, fast, or irregular. These abnormal heart rhythms are called arrhythmias.

• Pacemakers can relieve some symptoms related to arrhythmias, such as fatigue (tiredness) and fainting, and can help people who have arrhythmias resume a more active lifestyle.

• A pacemaker is similar to an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), but an ICD can use higher energy electrical pulses to treat certain dangerous arrhythmias. (To treat fast heart rhythms, a pacemaker is combined with an ICD in a single device.)

• Your doctor may recommend a pacemaker if aging, heart disease, or other factors make your heart beat too slow, too fast, or irregularly.

• Symptoms such as fainting, shortness of breath, and fatigue (tiredness) may be due to an irregular heartbeat that a pacemaker could correct. Your doctor will confirm whether you need a pacemaker based on your symptoms, any medicines you take, and test results.

• A pacemaker consists of a battery, a computerized generator, and wires. The generator sends the electrical pulses that correct or set your heart rhythm, and the wires carry pulses to and from various chambers of your heart and the generator.

• Pacemaker surgery is usually done in a hospital or special heart treatment laboratory. You will be given medicine to help you relax. The surgery takes just a few hours, but you will stay in the hospital overnight so your doctor can monitor your heart rhythm and make sure your pacemaker is working properly.

• Problems from pacemaker surgery are rare. Most people can return to normal activities within a few days.

• Your doctor may ask you to avoid any vigorous exercise or heavy lifting for a short period after your surgery. After you have fully recovered from surgery, discuss with your doctor how much and what kinds of physical activity are safe for you.

• Once you have a pacemaker, you have to avoid close or prolonged contact with electrical devices or devices that have strong magnetic fields. You also need to avoid certain medical procedures that can disrupt your pacemaker.

• Let all of your doctors, dentists, and medical technicians know that you have a pacemaker.

• Have your pacemaker checked regularly. Some pacemaker functions can be checked remotely through a telephone call or a computer connection to the Internet. Your doctor may ask you to come to his or her office to check your pacemaker.

• Pacemaker batteries have to be replaced every 5 to 15 years, depending on how active your pacemaker is. The wires of your pacemaker also may need to be replaced eventually. Your doctor can tell you whether you need to replace your pacemaker or its wires.

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