Dr. Ishant

If you had to choose between living a life of restrictions and a life of freedom, you'd choose the latter right? This is a decision most patients have to take when diagnosed with heart disease. However, thanks to medical advancements such as the pacemaker, they get to choose a life of freedom too, just like you.

In simple terms, a pacemaker is a tiny device helps people with irregular heart rhythms to quite effectively, maintain the 'pace' of their normal lifestyle. It is best suited for patients suffering from arrhythmias or the abnormal beating of the heart and heart block as well. As a matter of fact, for many people who have had a pacemaker fitted, things such as fainting, dizziness and other undesirable symptoms which have been known to be part and parcel of arrhythmias have become a thing of the past.

How it Works?

A pacemaker provides for the regular beating of the heart by providing electrical impulses which have a low intensity to the heart so as to induce it to beat in a normal manner. It is a small device which is composed of a battery whose energy works to power a computerized generator and a small albeit intricate system of wires attached to sensors, which are alternatively known as electrodes which observe the functioning of the heart.

For those who are planning to have a pacemaker implanted, it would be reassuring to know that there is a lot of due diligence which is a part of installing a pacemaker. The minor surgery which is required for it to be installed is completed in the span of a few hours.

It is to be noted that even after the installation is complete, a patient will have a day or so spent under the careful and watchful observation of the doctor and nurses so as to make sure that the pacemaker is functioning all but perfectly.

Post Op. Care:

There is a short period of recovery following which a person can resume his or her normal activities. But just as the pacemaker goes a long way in making its wearer's life easier, the wearer has a few responsibilities but there needs to be minimal concern with respect to its maintenance.

The batteries of pacemakers last about six to seven years, and for some pacemakers which are not that active, the battery need not be replaced till about fifteen years after the date of implantation.

Another precaution patients with patients need to take is that they stay out of zones of high magnetic energy, especially for sustained periods.

Besides these minor safety measures there are tremendous benefits of installing a pacemaker. It is truly life changing in every sense of the term. It helps you live life with a dose of renewed vigour, allowing you to indulge without regret!