Our Pacemaker Clinic a full-service clinic that provides comprehensive
patient surveillance and patient education. Services include assessment
of appropriate function, test generation, and lead integrity, as well
as extraction of diagnostic information, assessment of battery status,
and determination of elective replacement time. The pacemaker clinic assesses
the overall functioning of the pacemaker, ensuring the patient’s
needs are being met.
What is a Pacemaker?
Pacemaker is a small device that’s placed in the chest or abdomen
to help control abnormal heart rhythms. This device uses electrical pulses
to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate.
Pacemakers are used to treat arrhythmias. Arrhythmias are problems with
the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. During an arrhythmia, the heart beats
too fast, too slow, or with an irregular rhythm.
A heartbeat that’s too fast is called tachycardia. A heartbeat that’s
too slow is called bradycardia. During an arrhythmia, the heart may not
be able to pump enough blood to the body. This can cause symptoms such
as fatigue (tiredness), shortness of breath, or fainting. Severe arrhythmias
can damage the body’s vital organs and may even cause loss of consciousness or death.
A pacemaker can relieve some arrhythmia symptoms, such as fatigue and fainting.
A pacemaker also can help a person who has abnormal heart rhythms resume
a more active lifestyle.A pacemaker is a small unit that helps your heart
beat more regularly. It does this with a small electric stimulation that
helps control your heartbeat. Your doctor puts the pacemaker under the
skin on your chest, just under your collarbone. It’s hooked up to
your heart with tiny wires. You may need a pacemaker to keep your heart
beating properly. This helps your body get the blood, oxygen and food
that it needs. Some people just need a pacemaker for a short time (like
after a heart attack) and may use a kind that’s outside the skin.
The battery unit for this type can be worn on a belt.
Why would I need one?
Your heart beats too slow or too fast.
Your heart doesn’t beat regularly.
There’s a block in your heart’s electrical pathways.
How does it work?
A pacemaker uses batteries to send electric signals to your heart to help
it pump the right way.
The pacemaker is connected to your heart by one or more wires. Tiny electric
charges that you can’t feel move through the wire to your heart.
Pacemakers work only when needed. They go on when your heartbeat is too
slow, too fast or irregular.
How do I live with my pacemaker?
Check your pulse and keep a record of it the way your doctor tells you.
A pacemaker is implanted under the skin, just under the collarbone. With
a pacemaker, your heart should pump almost as well as it did before. Today
many people with pacemakers lead full, active lives.
Your doctor will check your pacemaker every three to six months. The battery
in your pacemaker should last five to eight years or longer. When the
battery runs down, you will need surgery to replace it.
Take your medicine the way your doctor tells you.
Tell your doctor if you have trouble breathing, if you gain weight or get
puffy legs or ankles, or if you faint, black out or get dizzy.
Follow all doctor’s instructions and keep your appointments.
Carry an I.D. card with you so others know you have a pacemaker.
Tell your other doctors and your dentist that you have a pacemaker. Certain
types of medical equipment may affect how a pacemaker works.
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