Health Tip: How a Pacemaker Helps the Heart
A pacemaker is a small, battery-powered device that is implanted in the skin of the chest or abdomen, and helps regulate the heartbeat.
Here are reasons for why a pacemaker may be prescribed, courtesy of the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:
* To correct a slow, fast or irregular heartbeat.
* To ensure that the heart's ventricles contract normally, in cases of atrial fibrillation.
* To regulate the electrical signals between the upper and lower chambers of the heart, and in other cases, between the ventricles of the heart.
Health Tip: Living With a Pacemaker
A pacemaker is a device that's implanted in a person's chest to help maintain a regular heartbeat.
The American Heart Association offers these suggestions for managing with a pacemaker:
* Avoid applying pressure on the area where the pacemaker was implanted. You may want to wear a small pad over the area for comfort and protection.
* Your pacemaker cannot be damaged by bathing or swimming.
* Make sure to get some physical activity every day to improve your health and circulation. Feel free to resume the level of sexual activity that you had before the pacemaker was implanted.
* Don't push yourself too hard. Exercise so that you feel good, but stop if you start to feel too tired or sick.
* Always tell your doctor, a nurse, dentist or other health professional that you have a pacemaker. Carry an identification card that shows you have the device.
* Tell your doctor if you have trouble breathing, if you have swelling of the legs or ankles, if you have unexplained weight gain, or if you feel faint or dizzy.
* You shouldn't experience interference from most household electrical appliances.
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