|
Cardiac permanent pacemakers are generally used to treat patients with slow heart rates. Pacemaker surgery is performed in the operating room and most patients are admitted to hospital on the same day of their surgery with many patients going home the same day of surgery. The pacemaker, a small, electronic device placed beneath the skin. The pacemaker adjusts heart rates according to changes in the body's activity level or demand for oxygen. Pacemakers can be used to stimulate the bottom chambers (ventricles) or the top chambers (atria) or both.
Defibrillators, also called implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), can help manage patients who have life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms, like ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The pager-sized device is implanted under the skin and includes a pulse generator with electrodes that are connected to the heart. When the internal computer senses a dangerous arrhythmia coming, it delivers an electrical current to restore the heart's rhythm. Like pacemakers, ICD's are usually done as an outpatient procedure.
|
|