The cardiovascular system supplies oxygen and nutrients to your body's organs so that your organs can do their jobs properly. We all have a natural system in our hearts to control our heart rate. If this system goes wrong, the heartbeat can be too fast, too slow, or irregular. In such a situation, a device can solve your problem, the name of that device is a pacemaker. Come, and let us know when it is needed, how it works, and what precautions should be taken with a pacemaker.
What is a pacemaker?
A pacemaker is a small battery-operated device that helps keep the heart beating in a regular rhythm. The three parts of a traditional pacemaker are the generator, the wire, and the sensor. However, some newer pacemakers are also wireless. It is inserted under the skin through a small incision on the chest below the collarbone or sometimes in the abdominal area. The pacemaker is attached to the heart through tiny wires through which electrical waves flow through the heart.
Types of Traditional Pacemakers
1. Single-lead pacemakers use a single wire placed in the lower right ventricle of the heart.
2. Dual lead pacemakers have one lead in the upper right corner and one in the lower right corner.
3. The biventricular pacemaker has three leads, they are placed in the upper right, lower right, and lower left ventricles.
When is a pacemaker needed?
1. If the heart rate is very slow and often irregular.
2. The pulse is sometimes normal and sometimes too fast or too slow.
3. This irregularity of heartbeat is accompanied by symptoms of breathlessness, dizziness, or fainting.
What are the precautions to be taken with a pacemaker?
Before leaving the hospital, get a pacemaker card, which has complete information about your pacemaker, such as when it was fitted, its settings, your doctor's name, and hospital, etc. This card should always be carried with you.
Also, avoid heavy lifting (more than 10 pounds), pushing, pulling, or twisting for two to three weeks. Take care not to apply pressure where the pacemaker was implanted. Also, don't wear clothes that rub against the cut. Women can wear a small pad over the incision to protect it from bra straps. Do not raise the arm on the side where the pacemaker was fitted above the shoulder for a few weeks. You will have to take these precautions for a few weeks after that life will become normal. There is no risk in the car, bus, or even airplane travel.
Tell your doctor, dentist, nurse, medical technician, and other healthcare professionals that you have a pacemaker. Apart from this, at the time of security check by a metal detector, also tell the security personnel about the pacemaker. Sometimes a pacemaker card may be necessary for such places.
Pacemaker test is necessary
Make an appointment for periodic pacemaker checkups to determine whether the pacemaker or its battery is working properly. This happens every 6 months or a year. Replace the battery if needed. However, pacemaker batteries should last 6 to 15 years.
