Pacemakers are used to treat brady-arrythmias, slow heart rhythms that may occur as a result of disease in the heart’s conduction system. Pacemakers are also used to treat syncope, heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Pacemakers are used to treat brady-arrythmias, slow heart rhythms that may occur as a result of disease in the heart’s conduction system. Pacemakers are also used to treat syncope, heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Once the anesthetic has taken effect, the physician will make a small incision at the insertion site. A sheath, or introducer, is inserted into a blood vessel, usually under the collarbone. The sheath is a plastic tube through which the pacer lead wire will be inserted into the blood vessel and advanced into the heart.
During your pacemaker surgery, your doctor will: Give you a local anaesthetic - to numb your collarbone area. Make a small incision near your collarbone - to create a pocket for the pacemaker battery. Thread the pacemaker leads inside a large vein - and in the right side of your heart.
The procedure usually takes between 1 and 2 hours, but it can take longer if you're having other heart surgery at the same time. Recovery after epicardial implantation usually takes longer than after transvenous implantation.
You'll usually be able to do all the things you want to do after around 4 weeks. The time you need off work will depend on your job. Your cardiologist will usually be able to advise you about this. Typically, people who have had a pacemaker fitted are advised to take 3 to 7 days off.