Aa
I see you posted in heart disease section also "how safe is it getting a pace-maker put in?"
As with any surgery there are some risks; (complications occur less than 1% of the time) but if you are sick enough the doctor thinks you should have a PM or ICD implanted, then heed their advice.
Have you looked up PM/ICD surgery risks on the American Heart Association or googled it to see the risks? There are NO guarantees with any surgery - just risk factors; I had an ablation and I was one of the <1% that had major complications and flatlined during surgery 3 times, but flew through the PM/ICD implant and had no problems.
Consider this - my PM/ICD was $81,619, leads $23,543 ($105,000 total) that doesn't include doctors, hospital, meds, OR, recovery etc....I don't think they would suggest it unless you have something wrong they think needs it.
But to ease your mind, the surgery was ok because they give you meds (mine was Versed) that relax you and make you sleep. When you wake up, if you're in pain or feel any discomfort, just tell them and they can give you a shot of something in your iv - I got Morphine and something for nausea which worked in a minute or two.
After recovery, you go back to your room and start the recovery process. Was it the easiest surgery? probably not, but certainly a surgery that saved my life at 42 - due to a dangerous heart rhythm.
Hope that helps.
As with any surgery there are some risks; (complications occur less than 1% of the time) but if you are sick enough the doctor thinks you should have a PM or ICD implanted, then heed their advice.
Have you looked up PM/ICD surgery risks on the American Heart Association or googled it to see the risks? There are NO guarantees with any surgery - just risk factors; I had an ablation and I was one of the <1% that had major complications and flatlined during surgery 3 times, but flew through the PM/ICD implant and had no problems.
Consider this - my PM/ICD was $81,619, leads $23,543 ($105,000 total) that doesn't include doctors, hospital, meds, OR, recovery etc....I don't think they would suggest it unless you have something wrong they think needs it.
But to ease your mind, the surgery was ok because they give you meds (mine was Versed) that relax you and make you sleep. When you wake up, if you're in pain or feel any discomfort, just tell them and they can give you a shot of something in your iv - I got Morphine and something for nausea which worked in a minute or two.
After recovery, you go back to your room and start the recovery process. Was it the easiest surgery? probably not, but certainly a surgery that saved my life at 42 - due to a dangerous heart rhythm.
Hope that helps.
I have a pacemaker and it is keeping me alive. I am paced at 100% which means if I did not have this device, I would not be here. A "danger", if any, might be the fact that you need to have the devise interrogated every 6 mo. There is a battery life and when it runs down, the device is replaced. I still have 3 yrs on my battery and have not experienced the battery change. I rank this invention right up there with antibiotics.
Are you having to make a decision about a pacer implant?
ksig
Are you having to make a decision about a pacer implant?
ksig
I think it's best weighed against the question "How dangerous is not having a pacemaker?"
what do you mean dangerous? the operation itself or the causes for having one implanted or having a pm in general?
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