Heart Wellness Store

Have you ever wondered how a pacemaker works? An artificial pacemaker is an electronic mechanism which is attached to the heart via tiny wires. The pacemaker is usually implanted through surgery, however temporary external pacemakers are available. The pacemaker sends an electrical pulse to the heart, which stimulates the heart to "beat." This is useful for people whose heart beats at an abnormal rate.

The heart’s natural pacemaker is responsible for regulating the heart’s beats at a certain pace. However, if sometimes the natural pacemaker fails in doing so. That is where artificial pacemakers step in to fulfil the role of the heart’s natural pacemaker.

 

These days, an electronic heart pacemaker can be programmed externally by a trained cardiologist who will be able to configure it to fit more precisely the needs of the individual. Pacemakers may also be combined with a defibrillator all in one unit if necessary.

While experiments regarding pacemakers run as far back as 1889, it was not until 1958 that an artificial and implantable pacemaker was first used. The first patient to receive the operation was Arne Larson who used twenty-two such devices over the course of his life.

Surgery is required to implant the pacemaker, although it is generally a straightforward procedure. In most cases, a local anesthetic is given and an incision is made below the left collar bone, where the pacemaker is inserted and the electrode wires are attached to the heart using a fluoroscope. Afterward, the doctor usually prescribes antibiotics as a precaution against infection as a result of the surgery.

A person who lives with an artificial heart pacemaker is usually required to visit the doctor once in a while so that the doctor can see that everything is working correctly and that the patient is remaining healthy.

Published by Heart Wellness Store

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Tags: artificial heart pacemaker, Cleveland Clinic, heart pacemakers, heart's artificial pacemaker, how a pacemaker works, importance of pacemaker, natural biological pacemaker, pacemakers

This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Heart Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.