Regarding Dad

My Dad is 63yrs old,and just suffered a mild heart attack.His heart has been severely out of rythm most of his life.He has just been told that his ef is between 30 and 35,and that he needs both a defibulator and pacemaker.He is severely depressed and scared,as am I.He is reluctant to have the procedure done,and I am scared to give him any advice.As of now his heart is pausing between beats.My question is for advice on this subject,and if the procedure could improve his ef and quality of life.I would also appreciate you to touch on the risk factors of having the procedure as opposed to not having the procedure.Thanks for any advice you may have.

[Artaud]

Hi,

The implantation of Pacemakers has become fairly routine. The Pacemaker itself is placed in a pocket formed under the skin in the chest. I spoke with an individual at work the other day that has one, he spent about 24 hours in the hospital and was released. He probably has the same type your father would need, a pacemaker for periodic slow heart beats and also has the defibrillator.

My wife, working for a Cardiologist, says that they have patients with significant Bradycardia (in their cases, a very slow heart beat), and says that they often feel much better from the time that the unit is turned on.

After the implant your Father will be expected to limit the movement of his left arm for several weeks to allow the leads to fully implant in the heart. (I guess that tissue grows around the tip of the leads and secures them better over time). He'll need to return to the Doctor, perhaps a week after the implantation then again perhaps at about 2 months. They can communicate with the Pacemaker using an electronic transponder of some type, and they can see the history of your father's pacemaker activities and even make changes to the Pacemaker's settings and test the Pacemaker using the same electronics, all without reopening the incision.

Perhaps other that have had a Pacemaker implanted under the same circumstances can contribute more from personal experience.

You may have read that some people on this forum, in order to eliminate certain arrhythmias, have what is referred to as AV Ablation. This makes their heart totally Pacemaker dependent, so that without a functioning pacemaker, their heart would cease to function. In your Father's case, he would likely have a Demand Pacemaker, which would only function when your Father's Heart failed to provide the natural pacemaker signal within a specific period of time, such as due to a pause. With a demand pacemaker (and other forms as well) his heart still beats on its own, and even increases in rate naturally as he walks or exerts himself.

Best of health for you and your father.