Overview

A pacemaker is a small electronic machine that regulates the heart’s rhythm. It is used to treat a person with an arrhythmia (an abnormal heart rhythm). The pacemaker is implanted under your skin near your collarbone. It is connected to your heart through small wires. When the pacemaker senses your heartbeat is abnormal, it sends electrical signals to your heart to return it to a normal rhythm. 

Pacemakers may be used for a short period of time (temporary), or permanently and is one of the most common ways to handle arrhythmia management. Your doctor may implant a temporary pacemaker to help treat a short-term heart problem, such as a slow heartbeat that results from a heart attack. A permanent pacemaker is used to treat a long-term heart rhythm problem.​

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) 

An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a pager-sized device that is implanted in the chest and may reduce the risk of dying if the heart goes into a dangerous rhythm and stops beating (cardiac arrest). An ICD may be recommended for individuals who have a dangerously fast heartbeat (ventricular tachycardia), or a chaotic heartbeat that impedes the heart from supplying enough blood to the rest of your body (ventricular fibrillation). Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators work by detecting and stopping dangerous, abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias) by delivering electrical shocks to restore a normal heart rhythm when necessary.​ 

Bi-ventricular Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator 

For patients with severe left ventricular heart failure, a biventricular ICD may be used to provide a more balanced method of controlling rapid heart beat (arrhythmia). The biventricular ICD leads are attached in the right atrium, the right ventricle and the left ventricle. The biventricular ICD detects when the heart is beating at a faster than normal rate, and shocks it back to normal.