A pacemaker is a small device that is inserted under the skin of the chest to control your heartbeat. This device sends tiny electrical impulses through the cables from the device to your heart muscle to control the heartbeat. To insert this device into your body, a minimal surgical procedure is needed.
Types of Pacemakers
There are different types of pacemakers. The type of pacemaker you require depends on your heart condition. Your doctor will set a minimal heart rate for your pacemaker. If your heartbeat drops below that value, impulses will be generated by the pacemaker and it passes through the leads(cables) to your heart muscle. The impulses make the heart muscles contract and create heartbeat.
The different types of pacemaker devices include:
- Single chamber pacemaker where the electrical impulses are carried to the right ventricle of the heart.
- A dual chamber pacemaker sends electrical impulses both to the right atrium and right ventricle of the heart. This helps to have co-ordinated contractions between the two heart chambers.
- Biventricular pacemaker is used for patients who are suffering with heart failure. This device makes the heart beat efficiently in a synchronous way by stimulating both the lower heart chambers, right ventrice and left ventricle.
Who are Good Candidates for Pacemaker?
Pacemaker therapy is used for people who have problems with their heartbeat such as slow heartbeat or irregular heartbeat. Pacemakers are used to treat the following heart conditions:
- Bradycardia is a condition where the patient heartbeat is very slow
- Tachycardia is a condition where the patient heartbeat is too fast
The above-mentioned heart conditions affect the blood supply to the body and causes:
- Fatigue
- Breathlessness
- Pain in vital organs
- Lightheaded
A doctor would also recommend a pacemaker for the following:
- Any heart disease that affects the ability of the sinus node to make the heart beat at a correct pace. Due to this, heartbeats become slower than normal and can have long gaps between heartbeats.
- If a patient has undergone an atrial fibrillation ablation procedure to treat arrhythmia, a pacemaker can be helpful to control the heartbeat after the procedure, if the heart rate becomes too low.
- Patients using medications for the heart problems, such as beta-blockers that slow down the heartbeat.
- Patients who have symptoms of slow heartbeat.
- Patients who have heart muscle problems which can make the electrical signals travel slowly through the heart muscle.
- Patients with some types of congenital heart disease and people who have undergone heart transplantation.
How Does a Pacemaker Work?
A pacemaker works when the heartbeat is very slow. It sends electrical signals to the heart to correct the heartbeat. A pacemaker device mainly consists of a battery, generator, and wires with sensors. Both the generator and battery are surrounded by a metal box. The wires are used to connect the generator to the heart.
The pacemaker monitors and regulates the heartbeat. When the heart rhythm is irregular, the generator sends electrical signals to the heart. The pacemaker also records the heart rhythm and electrical activity. Using this, your doctor can adjust the pacemaker to work as per your heartbeat.
Visit Dr. Hari Kiran for Pacemaker
Dr. Hari Kiran has over 10 years of experience as a cardiologist in Hyderabad. He has placed pacemakers for many patients to keep the heart beating. He is committed to offering quality heart care services to patients. To know more, call us.
