Pacemaker Implantation

Your heart is a muscle that pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. The proper pace is essential—if your heart beats too slowly, chronic fatigue, light-headedness, fainting spells, and shortness of breath can occur. Bradycardia, or heart slowness, is a resting heart rate of under sixty beats per minute, with the average being somewhere between sixty and one hundred beats per minute.

Causes of bradycardia are varied. The heart can undergo normal age-related changes. Cardiovascular disease can also damage the heart’s electrical system. Medical conditions such as an underactive thyroid or too much potassium in the blood can slow a heart rate. Even medications to correct cardiac problems or high blood pressure can adversely affect the heart’s rhythm.

Bradycardia is usually treated by implanting a pacemaker, which sets the pace for your heart. Pacemaker implantations are common, especially in adults over the age of sixty-five. Recent medical studies point to fewer complications, such as heart attacks or internal bleeding, when the procedure is performed by an electrophysiologist—a specially trained cardiologist. Washington County Hospital’s Dr. Joseph Reilly is board certified in electrophysiology.

The procedure usually takes one hour and requires local anesthesia. Within two to four weeks, pacemaker patients regain their active lifestyles without the fear and complications of an irregular heartbeat.