A pacemaker is a small device that makes the heartbeat more regular. It controls the heartbeat by sending a weak electrical stimulus. The pacemaker is implanted under the skin of your chest below your collarbone and connected to your heart by a tiny wire. The pacemaker delivers electrical impulses powered by a battery, which are transmitted through the wire electrodes to stimulate the heart muscle contacted by the electrodes, causing the heart to excite and contract, thereby treating heart dysfunction due to certain arrhythmias (mainly slow arrhythmias). Zhang Wenchang, Cardiac Arrhythmia Treatment Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Since the first pacemaker was implanted in human body in 1958, the pacemaker manufacturing technology and techniques have developed rapidly and their functions have become more and more perfect. While the application of pacemakers has successfully treated slow arrhythmias and saved the lives of thousands of patients, pacemakers have also begun to be applied to tachyarrhythmias and non-cardiac diseases, such as prevention of paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias, carotid sinus syncope, and biventricular synchronization for drug-refractory congestive heart failure.
You may need the help of a pacemaker to keep your heart beating regularly. This will help your body get the necessary blood, oxygen and nutrients. Some people only need a pacemaker for a short time (e.g. after a heart attack) and may use a pacemaker that is placed outside the skin. These pacemakers have a battery pack that can be attached to your belt. With a pacemaker, your heart rate is almost restored to its previous level. Many people now have a full, active life thanks to pacemakers.
Why do I need a pacemaker?
Your heart is too slow or too fast.
You have an irregular heartbeat.
The electrical pathway to your heart is blocked.
How does a pacemaker work?
A pacemaker uses a battery to send an electrical signal to the heart to make it beat normally.
The pacemaker is connected to the heart by one or more wires. A tiny electrical charge that the body cannot detect reaches the heart through the wire.
The pacemaker works only when it is needed. It starts working when the heart beats too slowly, too fast or irregularly.
How do I live with a pacemaker?
Check and record your pulse as prescribed by your doctor.
Your doctor will check your pacemaker every three to six months. The pacemaker’s battery should last five to eight years or more. When the battery runs out, you will need to have surgery to replace it.
Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor.
Tell your doctor if you have difficulty breathing, weight gain, swelling in your legs or ankles, and symptoms of fainting, fainting, or vertigo.
Follow doctor’s orders to the letter and keep your appointments.
Bring your ID card so that others know you are wearing a pacemaker.
Tell other doctors that you are wearing a pacemaker. Some types of medical devices can interfere with the proper functioning of a pacemaker.
Tell airport security that you are wearing a pacemaker. Airport security screening equipment does not affect pacemakers, but pacemakers can set off metal detectors, and patients should show their pacemaker ID card to security personnel in advance.
If there is no serious organic heart disease or other diseases, it can work normally.
You can drive, swim, travel by car, train, plane or ship. You should avoid opening the hood to repair a car engine, driving a motorcycle or riding in a car with violent bumps.
Moderate alcohol consumption does not affect pacemakers, which themselves are not affected by diet.
Household microwave ovens, electrical appliances, most office and light workshop equipment do not affect the proper functioning of pacemakers. Electric razors and electric barber pushers should not come into direct contact with the skin at the pacemaker implantation site.
If you are dealing with industrial microwave ovens, electrical equipment, automobiles or other large motorized equipment, please consult your physician about the effects.
If your pacemaker is equipped with a nighttime heart rate slowing function, check with your physician and have your pacemaker adjusted before leaving the country you are visiting if there is a time difference between your home country and the country you are visiting.
Avoid strenuous activities and weight-bearing on the implanted side of the arm: avoid lifting the upper limb of the implanted side of the pacemaker as much as possible to avoid electrode displacement; do not pull on the upper limb of the implanted side to prevent electrode breakage or dislocation.
Avoid magnet close to the pacemaker, including magnetic therapy fitness equipment.
Keep away from strong magnetic and electric fields such as radio stations, TV transmitters, OB trucks, transmitters, radar, motors, internal combustion engines, high-voltage electric fields, transformers, power plants, electric arc welding, MRI in hospitals, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.
Take care to keep the skin at the implantation site and lead leads of the artificial pacemaker clean and dry, and avoid impact, and do not rub it hard during bathing to prevent the pacing frequency from increasing.
Can I use a cell phone or microwave oven while wearing a pacemaker?
Microwave ovens, electric blankets, TV remote controls and other common household appliances do not interfere with the proper functioning of the pacemaker. You may also use a cell phone, but the following steps should be followed.
Place the phone next to your ear on the other side of the pacemaker’s location when making a call.
Keep the phone on at least 15 cm away from the pacemaker. For example, do not put the phone in your breast pocket.
Do I need to take it easy after the pacemaker is installed?
Most people who wear a pacemaker are able to lead a full life.
You can participate in physical activities if your doctor allows you to do so.
You may need to undergo an exercise load test so that your doctor can tell you the type and amount of exercise that is appropriate.
Many pacemakers allow an increase in the frequency of beats during exercise.
You can have sex.
Many patients are concerned about the installation of a pacemaker, but in fact it is very safe. Although complications and malfunctions can occur during or after the installation of a pacemaker, the overall incidence is only about 1%. In patients who are eligible for pacemaker implantation, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages if they are treated regularly and followed up regularly.