Pacemaker- Temporary and Permanent

A pacemaker is a small device that helps your heart beat more regularly. It does this with a small electric stimulation that helps control your heartbeat. Your doctor puts the pacemaker under the skin on your chest, just under your collarbone. It’s hooked up to your heart with tiny wires. You may need a pacemaker to keep your heart beating properly. This helps your body get the blood and oxygen it needs. Some people just need a pacemaker for a short time (like after a heart attack) and may use a kind that’s outside the skin. The battery unit for this type can be worn on a belt.

Doctors recommend pacemakers for many reasons. The most common reasons are bradycardia and heart block. Bradycardia is a heartbeat that is slower than normal. Heart block is a disorder that occurs if an electrical signal is slowed or disrupted as it moves through the heart.

Heart block can happen as a result of aging, damage to the heart from a heart attack, or other conditions that disrupt the heart’s electrical activity. Some nerve and muscle disorders also can cause heart block, including muscular dystrophy.

Doctors also may recommend pacemakers for people who have certain types of congenital heart disease or for people who have had heart transplants.

Before recommending a pacemaker, your doctor will consider any arrhythmia symptoms you have, such as dizziness, unexplained fainting, or shortness of breath. He or she also will consider whether you have a history of heart disease, what medicines you’re currently taking, and the results of heart tests.