Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are among the most commonly used devices for the treatment of arrhythmias and arrhythmias. In our outpatient clinic, we only use devices that comply with the highest standards of treatment protocol. The devices are implanted under local anaesthesia in the area between the left shoulder and the pectoral muscle during a quick surgical procedure. Depending on the problem or heart condition being treated, the devices may have one, two or three electrodes that lead into the heart cavities and stimulate the heart in a specific way to detect spontaneous heart activity. Pacemakers are usually used to treat arrhythmias with a slow heart rate. Defibrillators, which also function as pacemakers, can be used to stop very fast arrhythmias that can cause sudden cardiac death.
These modern devices are complex, and not only help the wearer’s heart through difficult moments, but also provide a wealth of information about how the heart is working. The processing and analysis of this data and the complexity of the devices mean that they need regular monitoring. During regular, painless consultations, we use an external computer to read the pacemaker/ICD via telemetry, make sure it is working correctly and obtain appropriate information about the patient’s heart function based on the data collected by the device. The test takes 10-25 minutes, depending on the type of device and the results found.
If the results indicate the need, the device can be reprogrammed and the treatment plan can be defined or modified when the results are read. Remote monitoring techniques are also available for some pacemaker/ICD systems, which can help to detect abnormalities early on, possibly without complaints, which, if treated in time, can prevent a major problem.
We created the pacemaker/ICD clinic to monitor the health of patients with pacemakers and defibrillators, to check their devices and reprogram them if necessary.
