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Permanent Pacemaker – All about

What is Permanent Pacemaker?

(Foreword: Permanent Pacemaker article is written only to ease up internet search for “Permanent Pacemaker” and to help resolve this issue. To clarify in further text biventricular pacemaker is also a type of permanent pacemaker and do not let this confuse you.)                                                      

A permanent pacemaker consists of a generator and leads which are implanted into the upper chest through a small incision. The generator is a metal case containing the power source and a timer that regulates how often the pacemaker sends out electrical signals. As mentioned in cardiac pacemaker article here you will be able to find out everything you need about permanent pacemaker. The first permanent pacemaker was implanted in 1958. A Biventricular pacing is a device that is used to coordinate the chambers of the heart so that they pump more effectively. Risks are the same like for any pacemaker implantation surgery. It could be notable to say that there are three main types of permanent pacemakers, depending on the number of chambers involved:  single-chamber pacemaker, dual-chamber pacemaker, rate-responsive pacemaker. Since I have said almost everything one needs to know about pacemaker in previous articles, keeping my main focus on biventricular pacemaker

I will use my space here to write a tell you a short story that happened in my hospital: permanent pacemaker1 150x150 Permanent Pacemaker   All aboutA few years ago a very old patient came in a very bad condition. Apparently the patient had a heart stroke and the family brought his Pacemaker ID. They were not aware how can a patients have heart problem after they got successfully implanted their permanent pacemaker, so they complained there was a pacemaker failure. The truth was something different: Pacemaker was still working, but the heart stopped working. Heart is a complex organ and in this specific case it just got tired, because of the age and condition of a patient. Permanent pacemaker will help you pump blood into organs, it will keep your heart working, extend your life and probably be your lifesaver for some years, but the truth is no one, not even a most skillful surgeon or cardiologist can predict how much will it take for your heart to get tired of its life. A specific risk are people over 60 years, but thanks to this remarkable device they can still live their life in normal way. True lifesaver – a permanent pacemaker!

Biventricular Pacemaker – All about

What is Biventricular Pacemaker?

biventricular pacemaker 150x150 Biventricular Pacemaker   All aboutBiventricular pacemaker, also known as CRT (cardiac resynchronization therapy) is a type of pacemaker that can pace both the septal and lateral walls of the left ventricle. As promised in cardiac pacemakers introduction article in this one you will be able to find out everything you need or want to know about biventricular pacemaker. A heart whose opposing walls are not synchronized (20% – 25% of patients have this problem) is now resynchronized with biventricular pacemaker. Timing between the atrial and ventricular contractions can be adjusted to achieve optimal cardiac function. Also a biventricular pacemaker can be easily combined with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. It is notable to say that biventricular pacemaker is a procedure for patients who have drug therapy resistance.

Biventricular Pacemaker Cost

Cost of biventricular pacemaker could be an issue. The cost of one  is near 20000$ (US dollars) and more if it comes with defibrillator. Probably the best clinic in US for this surgery is Cleveland Clinic Heart Center. There are some clinics in India that offer this surgery for a little more then 13000$ (US dollars).

Biventricular Pacemaker Complications

For any biventricular pacemaker complications you should talk to your doctor – cardiologist. Surgery is a standard procedure but patient must be aware of the complications. Some of most common complications are:

  • Bleeding
  • Haematoma
  • Infections
  • Equipment failure (sometimes it happens that the body rejects pace box)
  • Heart failure
  • Potential surgery complications (human factor)

The patient should be well informed on this matter and be aware that these biventricular pacemaker complications are very rare and unusual. Big factor on complications are often the age and physical condition of a patient. When it comes to equipment failure despite the medicine technology improvement in last few years this is still a big issue. The failure occurs in 4% – 10% cases.

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