How can you care for yourself at home? Rest when you feel tired. Be active. Walking is a good choice. For 4 to 6 weeks: Avoid activities that strain your chest or upper arm muscles. This includes pushing a lawn mower or vacuum, or mopping floors. It also includes swimming, or swinging a golf club or tennis racquet. Do not raise your arm the one on the side of your body where the pacemaker is located above your shoulder.
Allow your body to heal. Don't move quickly or lift anything heavy until you are feeling better. Many people are able to return to work within 1 to 2 weeks after surgery. Ask your doctor when it is okay for you to have sex. You can eat your normal diet. If your stomach is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice, broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt.
Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. He or she will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines. If you take aspirin or some other blood thinner, be sure to talk to your doctor. He or she will tell you if and when to start taking this medicine again.
Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label. If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine. Do not take aspirin, ibuprofen Advil, Motrin , naproxen Aleve , or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs unless your doctor says it is okay. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed.
Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics. If you have strips of tape on the incision, leave the tape on for a week or until it falls off. Keep the incision dry while it heals. Your doctor may recommend sponge baths for about 7 days, but do not get the incision wet. Your doctor will let you know when you may take showers.
After a shower, pat the incision dry. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol on the incision, which can slow healing. You may cover the area with a gauze bandage if it oozes fluid or rubs against clothing.
Because most of today's pacemakers automatically adjust the heart rate to match the level of physical activity, they may can allow you to resume a more active lifestyle. Your doctor should check your pacemaker every 3 to 6 months. Tell your doctor if you gain weight, if your legs or ankles get puffy, or if you faint or get dizzy. Most pacemakers can be checked by your doctor remotely, which means you don't have to go into the doctor's office. Your pacemaker sends information to your doctor, including your heart rate and rhythm, how your pacemaker is working, and how much battery life is left.
Your pacemaker's battery should last 5 to 15 years. When the battery stops working, you'll need surgery to replace it. The procedure to change your pacemaker's battery is often quicker and requires less recovery time than the procedure to implant your pacemaker.
If you have a pacemaker and become terminally ill with a condition unrelated to your heart, such as cancer, it's possible that your pacemaker could prolong your life. Doctors and researchers vary in their opinions about turning off a pacemaker in end-of-life situations. Talk to your doctor if you have a pacemaker and are concerned about turning it off. You may also want to talk to family members or another person designated to make medical decisions for you about what you'd like to do in end-of-life care situations.
Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions. Pacemaker care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview A pacemaker is a small device that's placed implanted in your chest to help control your heartbeat. A pacemaker is also called a cardiac pacing device.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy. The heart's conduction system Open pop-up dialog box Close. The heart's conduction system The heart's natural pacemaker — the sinus node — produces electrical signals that prompt your heart to beat. Pacemaker Open pop-up dialog box Close. Pacemaker A pacemaker is a device used to control an abnormal heart rhythm. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Pacemaker. American Heart Association.
Accessed June 22, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. How the healthy heart works. All about heart rate pulse. Mulpuru SK, et al. Small amounts of energy are delivered through the leads into the heart, which cause it to contract and pull inwards.
When the leads are being tested, you may feel your heart beat faster. Tell the medical team about any symptoms you feel. Your doctor will adjust the settings of your pacemaker after deciding how much electrical energy is needed to stimulate your heartbeat. If it's needed to treat a potentially serious condition, such as severe heart block or cardiac arrest, surgery is often performed as an emergency. If the reason for surgery isn't thought to be life threatening, you may have to wait up to 18 weeks.
In most cases, surgery is carried out as soon as possible once it's been decided that you would benefit from a pacemaker. Read more about NHS waiting times. Page last reviewed: 15 October Next review due: 15 October Before having a pacemaker fitted, you'll have a preoperative assessment.
You'll be asked about your general health and heart problems, and how they affect you. Read more about preparing for surgery. Your specialist The pacemaker implantation will be carried out by a heart specialist, known as a cardiologist, who will probably have a special interest in pacemakers. Fitting the pacemaker Transvenous implantation is the most common method of fitting a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ICD.
Transvenous implantation During transvenous implantation, the cardiologist will make a 5 to 6cm about 2 inch cut just below your collarbone, usually on the left side of the chest, and insert the wires of the pacemaker pacing leads into a vein. The area will soon become numb, but you may feel a pulling sensation during the operation.
You'll usually need to stay in hospital overnight and have a day's rest after the procedure. Epicardial implantation Epicardial implantation is an alternative and less widely used method of fitting a pacemaker. Recovery after epicardial implantation usually takes longer than after transvenous implantation.
Implantable cardioverter defibrillators ICDs In most cases, implantable cardioverter defibrillators ICDs are fitted transvenously, along a vein.
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