A pacemaker (pacemaker, cardiac pacemaker) is a device whose task is to stimulate the work of the heart. A pacemaker is implanted in a patient when heart rhythm disturbances occur as a result of various diseases of the circulatory system.
The pacemakeris a small device implanted in patients who havearrhythmias . The fact that the first patient - a Swede Arne Larsson, who had a pacemaker implanted with as many as 24 pacemakers - died at the age of 86.
Pacemaker: replacement
A pacemaker is an automatic device that stimulates the heart with electrical impulses. The heart simulator has its own battery, the service life of which is between 7 and 15 years. When the battery is exhausted, the pacemaker should be replaced.
Pacemaker: tasks
A pacemaker senses the patient's heart rhythm and produces its own electrical signals which it adjusts to the patient's heartbeat at a certain point in time. The pacemaker comes into operation only when its own heartbeat stops, so that the two rhythms of the patient and the pacemaker do not interfere with each other.
Pacemaker: programming
Modern pacemakers can be programmed at any time from outside the patient's body. Thanks to this, the use of the device is safer and more comfortable, and the battery lasts longer.
Types of pacemakers
- anti-arrhythmic - starts working when it senses the appearance of a tachycardia and stops it;
- single chamber - stimulates the right atrium or the right ventricle, and from there the impulses spread to the entire heart muscle;
- dual chamber - electrodes are located in the right atrium and also in the right ventricle;
- tri-chamber - the most promising application here is severe heart failure; electrodes are located in the right atrium and in the right and left ventricles. This type of stimulation improves the performance of the heart as a blood pump; allows you to avoid a heart transplant or delay it very much;
- dual-chamber-dual atrial - is a significant help in preventing attacks of atrial fibrillation, the electrodes are placed in the right and left atrium, it may have an additional thirdelectrode in the right chamber;
- with adaptive rate change - the sensor can be used to change and adapt its rate to a given situation, e.g. during exercise, provides comfort of life for active people, and also improves the effectiveness of heart failure therapy in the elderly.