How A Pacemaker Can Help Make Your Heart Beat Faster

By Rebecca Murphy


The heart is not a mythical organ. When it does not work well, the entire body suffers and millions of people die every year due to heart complications. One can keep living without a kidney, a spleen, a gall bladder and even part of the liver, but a damaged heart is detrimental. Thank goodness that so many people from Princeton NJ, by receiving a pacemaker, can get a new lease on life.

The heart is really nothing other than a pump the size of an average fist. It pumps blood containing oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body. When it does not pump as intended to, heart problems van ensue. Sometimes the chambers of the heart do not coordinate very well and sometimes the heart beats too slow or too fast.

When a heart does not beat as it should, a pace making device is often the simplest and most effective solution. This is a rather simple device consisting of a generator that supplies electricity and some electrodes that are connected to the chambers of the heart. The generator simply creates electric impulses through the electrodes and in this way the heart is prompted to beat in a regular rhythm.

These devices may be simply, but that does not mean that they are not sophisticated. They not only regulate the heartbeat, but they constantly monitor the breathing and activity of the body. During exercise, for example, or a change in the breathing pattern of the patient, the heart rate will be increased or decreased according to the blood and oxygen needs of the body.

The good news is that pace making devices are implanted without much fuss. Only a local anaesthetic is needed and the patient is awake during the procedure. The unit containing the generator is inserted below the collar bone of the left shoulder. The electrodes are then attached to the heart chambers through a major vein. The entire procedure can be completed in half an hour.

The good news is that a pace making device does not require the patient to make major life style changes. He does have to avoid intensive magnetic fields and he should avoid contact sports. He may experience swelling and discomfort at the site where the generator is placed, but this discomfort is short lived. Patients should inform other medical professionals that they have such a device when receiving other medical treatment.

This procedure is extremely safe and complication are extremely rare. In some very few cases patients experienced collapsed lungs during the procedure. There is, of course, always a risk of infection developing but this is the case during any surgical procedure. Some patients may have an allergic reaction to the dye that is used during surgery. Some swelling and discomfort at the site where the generator was inserted is common.

Millions of people are able to continue enjoying life because of pace maker technology. Heart disease continue to be one of the biggest causes of death world wide. Ongoing research will no doubt provide new solutions. It is the responsibility of each individual, however, to avoid habits and lifestyle choices that will have an adverse effect upon the heart.




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