Sunday, July 10, 2016

A Simple Pacemaker Procedure Can Save Millions Of Lives

By Rebecca Murphy


The heart is not a mythical organ. When it does not work well, the entire body suffers and millions of people die every year due to heart complications. One can keep living without a kidney, a spleen, a gall bladder and even part of the liver, but a damaged heart is detrimental. Thank goodness that so many people from Princeton NJ, by receiving a pacemaker, can get a new lease on life.

In essence, the heart is nothing but a pump the size of a fist. The majority of heart problems have to do with an organ that does not beat as strongly or as regularly as it should. Alternatively, the chambers of the heart does not coordinate with each other very well. The result is that the heart fails to deliver sufficient oxygen and blood to the other organs in the body, causing lots of problems and potential failures.

A pace making device is a relatively simple piece of machinery that helps the heart to beat at the optimum pace. In essence, it consist of a generator that sends electrical impulses to electrodes that are attached to the various chambers of the heart. The electrical impulses controls the rate at which the heart beats. Millions of people have received pace making devices in the past few decades.

On the one hand these devices are extremely basic but they are sophisticated at the same time. They perform constant monitoring of the body during exercise or when the breathing of the patient changes, the heart rate is adjusted accordingly. Every effort is made to ensure that the immediate oxygen and blood needs of the body is satisfied. This is to ensure that patients do not become over tired or even pass out.

Inserting a pace making device does not require major surgery. The generator is placed just below the collar bone of the shoulder on the left and the electrodes are guided to the heart chambers through a major vein. It is done under a local anaesthetic and the patient can go home almost immediately after the procedure. At least one follow up visit is necessary to make sure that the device is performing well.

The good news is that a pace making device does not require the patient to make major life style changes. He does have to avoid intensive magnetic fields and he should avoid contact sports. He may experience swelling and discomfort at the site where the generator is placed, but this discomfort is short lived. Patients should inform other medical professionals that they have such a device when receiving other medical treatment.

Complications during or after the procedure is very rare, but care should always be taken to avoid infection. Patients may experience mild discomfort and swelling for a few days at the site where the generator is inserted. Full body contact sport should be avoided and intense magnetic fields, such as generated by MR scans can be harmful. Patients should inform other medical professionals that they have this type of implant.

Millions of people are able to continue enjoying life because of pace maker technology. Heart disease continue to be one of the biggest causes of death world wide. Ongoing research will no doubt provide new solutions. It is the responsibility of each individual, however, to avoid habits and lifestyle choices that will have an adverse effect upon the heart.




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