pacemaker failure

Posted By deb  on April 24, 1998 at 14:19:25:







My mother, who has had the same pacemaker for about 12 years,
recently experienced chest pains and was admitted into the hospital.
After testing, it was determined that her pacemaker had stopped working
and had not been working for some time prior to her admittance.
The hospital subsequently replaced her pacemaker.
We would like to know what kind of injury/discomfort can result from
having a pacemaker attached but not working.  
Also, her original reason for having the pacemaker was to control
rapid heartbeat. Can she expect any permanent injury/discomfort to
result from her NOT having the pacemaker running for that time period?
Thanks, Deb