Question 1

if someone was a fit athlete and had a low resting heart rate of say 30 and had a pacemaker for any reason to make it 60 what would happen?

Accepted Answer

That's too low.: Even for a fit athlete, a resting heart rate of 30 is just too slow.  The HR in an elite athlete may dip into the mid-40s, but any lower would make me think that there's some pathology in the rhythm system of the heart for which a pacemaker might actually be required.  With this HR, is there any lightheadedness, shortness of breath, passing out?

Question 2

my grandfather is in his 80's and he will be having the battery on his pacemaker replaced. are their any major risks involved?

Accepted Answer

Not high risk : Generator exchange is not a high risk procedure. It is usually done with sedation and local anesthesia. Risks are mostly local e.g. Bleeding or infection.

Question 3

what are pacemakers?

Accepted Answer

Speed up heart: If your heart is beating too slow, a pacemaker sends a small electric shock to the heart making it beat faster. There is a batery and some electronic circuits which tell the pacemaker when your heart beats too slow.

Question 4

what is a pacemaker?

Accepted Answer

Heart device.: A cardiac pacemaker is a device that is implanted in the chest to permanently regulate heartbeat rhythms. The pacemaker monitors the heartbeat to make sure it is not beating too slowly, and when necessary transmits electric pulses to the heart to increase the heartbeat pace. Pacemakers are periodically replaced every several years when the battery runs out.

Question 5

can a pacemaker expire?

Accepted Answer

Battery life: Pacemakers have a battery or generator life.  The device does not 'expire' but it does come to end of life and the generator or body of the pacemaker must be replaced.

Question 6

how to test a pacemaker?

Accepted Answer

Pacemaker clinic: You need to go to pacemaker clinic at a hospital where they will "interogate" it. You cannot do it by yourself.

Question 7

how are pacemakers placed?

Accepted Answer

Minor surgical proce: Pacemakers are placed in a cardiac cath or surgical suite with the visual guidance of fluoroscopy (x-ray  visualization).  A pacing lead is placed into the heart after access to a vein in the arm, groin, neck, chest is obtained.  Specific electrical parameters of the lead are checked, then the lead attached to a pacemaker often embedded in the upper chest wall, where small incision is made.

Question 8

what are fixed pacemakers?

Accepted Answer

Fixed rate: I assume you mean fixed rate pacemakers. We don't use them anymore. The very earliest pacemakers just fired at whatever rate you set them, once a second if you set the rate to 60. That lead to chaos if the patient's inherent heart rate was not always real slow. So they made pacemaker's which sense normal beats and only fire if the rate gets slow. They are inhibited when a heartbeat is sensed.

Question 9

how do pacemakers function?

Accepted Answer

Speed up heart: If your heart is beating too slow, wires are placed into the heart and hooked to a battery which sends an electrical impulse to the heart making it contract at a faster rate.

Question 10

what people need pacemakers?

Accepted Answer

HeartRhythm or block: The most common indicators for an implanted pacemaker are bradycardia (slow heart rate), tachycardia (fast heart rate) and heart block (when the heart stops beating for several seconds).

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Doctor answers about:

Athletes with pacemakers

A member asked:

If someone was a fit athlete and had a low resting heart rate of say 30 and had a pacemaker for any reason to make it 60 what would happen?

A member asked:

My grandfather is in his 80's and he will be having the battery on his pacemaker replaced. are their any major risks involved?

A member asked:

What are pacemakers?

A member asked:

What is a pacemaker?

A member asked:

Can a pacemaker expire?

A member asked:

How to test a pacemaker?

A member asked:

How are pacemakers placed?

A member asked:

What are fixed pacemakers?

A member asked:

How do pacemakers function?

A member asked:

What people need pacemakers?

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