Pacemaker Implantation Treatment

Fixing a device into the chest to maintain the regular heartbeat of the person is called pacemaker implantation. Heart problems are increasing day by day and approx., 3 million individuals are living with the help of a pacemaker. It can be fixed temporarily and permanently which depends on the patient’s medical condition, age etc.

According to research, it is shown that there are millions of individuals who are dealing with heart-related circulatory system diseases. Implanting pacemaker gives signal to the heart when its beat gets slow and inconstant. It is an artificial pulse generator which consists of an electronic circuit and a battery which maintains the rhythm of the heart.

How does it work?

A pacemaker comprises three parts like leads (wires), pulse generator and electrode present on per lead. To control the rhythm of the heart, a pacemaker used a low-energy electrical pulse. These electrical pulses are sent through wire which is called leads and the electrodes carry electrical impulse to the heart to make it normal. All this process stimulates the heart to make contractions.

Types of Pacemakers

Pacemakers are of 3 types which are as follows:-

• Single Chamber
• Dual-Chamber
• Biventricular Pacemakers

What is the Need For a Pacemaker?

To make the rhythm of the heart, pacemaker is used to manage electrical impulse to make the heart beat properly. There are some health complication due to which electrical signal in the heart gets interrupted, so a doctor suggests pacemaker transplantation to those patients with these various heart condition and these are as follows:-

• Tachy-brady Syndrome – When the rhythm of the heart gets slow and fast alternatively.
• Bradycardia – The heart rate becomes very slow due to the sinus node.
• Heart block – When the electrical signals are not transmitted properly, this causes blockage.

Advantages of Pacemaker Implantation

Pacemaker implantation can be helpful in many ways:-

• A doctor can remotely monitor your pacemaker’s function to know about your heart health. This feature is present in the advanced version.
• This device can be used for a long time due to its durability.
• The most important thing, it may help you to improve your quality of life. It minimizes the symptoms like fainting, breathing problems due to abnormal cardiac rhythm.
• You can easily resume your daily activities which might be paused due to your heart condition.
• When there is not sufficient flow of the blood which leads to fainting and blackout. It is by maintaining a constant heartbeat by the pacemaker.

Pacemaker Implantation Process

You have to go for checkup before starting the procedure, here are the details:-

1) Tests Before Implanting Pacemaker

A doctor will run some tests which are done before implanting a pacemaker. These are mentioned below:-

• Holter Monitor – This device records electrical activity of the heart in a day which is an easy, simple and portable device.
• Pneumothorax – When air gets trapped in the chest and outside from the lungs. It is because during the procedure lungs get punctured and this causes trouble breathing and sometimes lungs get collapsed.
• Stress Test – You have to walk on a treadmill to record your heart rhythm. This test will show the response of your body towards the exercise.
• Echocardiogram – It is used to get a picture of the function of the heart like it’s beating and structure, such as blood circulation in the heart. All this image can be seen through ultrasound.
• ECG – It shows the frequency of the heartbeat.

2) Pacemaker Implantation

Its implantation can be done in two ways and these are mentioned below:-

1. a) Epicardial implantation

It is a less common way to fit a pacemaker which is mostly used  in children. It is done in the following ways:-

• To make the patient fall asleep, a general anesthesia is given during the procedure.
• A small cut is made on the outer side o f the heart and below the chest.
• Now one tip of the lead will be placed into the heart by the cardiologist and the other part of the lead will be linked to a pacemaker device. It is under the skin of the abdomen.
• The procedure is about 1 or 2 hours and patients have to stay for a few days.

Note: This type is done in those individuals who have undergone heart surgery as well as pacemaker implantation.

1. b) Transvenous Implantation

It is a most common fitting process for a pacemaker which is done in an electrophysiological laboratory. It includes these steps:-

• It is done by giving local anesthesia in the form of the injection.
• Before making any cuts, that area will be numbed by giving sedatives.
• Now from the cut, a lead is inserted from the vein, toward the heart. The moving images can be viewed by a fluoroscopy instrument.
• One tip of the lead is attached to the heart and the other end with a pulse generator under the skin of the upper chest.

Is There any Risk in Pacemaker Implantation?

There might be a possibility of certain risks after this procedure. This may be varied from person to person, their age, health condition and other factors. Pacemaker implantation may cause bleeding, infection and damage to the blood vessels by making a cut and inserting a catheter.