Pacemaker

If illness or a heart defect have affected your heart's electrical system, your heartbeat might become too slow. This can result in not enough oxygen being pumped throughout the brain and body.

At Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic, our cardiologists use pacemakers to do the job your heart can't. This small, implantable device helps keep your heart beating at a steady rhythm.

What is pacemaker?

A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device. They range in size from about the size of half dollar to as small as pill capsule.

A pacemaker is used when the heart’s natural pacemaker (the sinus node located in the upper chamber of the heart) isn’t working properly. The sinus node is an important part of the heart’s electrical system.

When the sinus node malfunctions, your heart doesn’t get the signal to contract properly. This affects how well blood is pumped through the heart and moved through the rest of the body.

Surgically implanting a pacemaker in the chest helps regulate the electrical system. The device takes over for the sinus node. It now provides the electrical signals the heart needs to maintain a healthy rhythm.

Types of pacemakers

There are several different types of pacemakers. Your doctor will help you decide which one is best for you.

Types of pacemakers include:

• Single-lead pacemaker uses one wire (called a lead) to attach the device to the lower right chamber of your heart.
• Dual-lead pacemaker attaches one wire to the right atrium and one to the right ventricle of your heart.
• Biventricular pacemaker has three leads. One attaches to the right atrium, one to the right ventricle and one to the left ventricle.
• Wireless pacemakers are newer, smaller versions of the device that contain no leads.

Conditions treated with a pacemaker

If you have a defect in your heart’s sinus node, it can affect the function of the heart’s electrical system. Inserting a pacemaker helps keep those electrical signals running smoothly.

Other conditions often treated with a pacemaker include:

• Atrial fibrillation (an irregular and rapid heartbeat)
• Bradycardia (an arrhythmia that causes a too-slow heartbeat)
• Heart failure (the heart can’t pump enough oxygen through the body)
• Syncope (fainting caused by the heart not pumping enough oxygen to the brain)

Pacemaker side effects

Your provider can place a pacemaker in your chest without open heart surgery. Doctors implant the device through a small incision. Then they use a special type of X-ray, called fluoroscopy, to guide placement of the wires from the pacemaker through a vein and into your heart. Wireless pacemakers are inserted using just a catheter (thin tube) through a vein.

Any surgery has potential risks. Because pacemaker placement is a minimally invasive procedure, those risks are reduced. Surgical risks include:

• Blood clots
• Infection
• Reaction to anesthesia

Once you have a pacemaker, you need to take certain precautions – especially around strong magnetic or electronic fields. These can potentially interfere with the pacemaker. Talk to your doctor about any risks related to airport security screening, MRI scans or other medical procedures.

Related conditions

Arrhythmia

Atrial fibrillation

Heart failure