The pacemaker helps treat an issue called arrhythmias. Arrhythmias are problems with the beat of your heartrate. There are 4 different types of arrhythmias, premature which is when you get extra beats (the most common type), Supraventricular tachycardia is when your heart beats too fast, ventricular rhythm issues can halt the ventricle from pumping blood into your body (this could result in cardiac arrest), and Bradycardia is when your heart beats too slow meaning not enough blood gets to your brains sometimes meaning you could pass out. If someone is unlucky to have arrhythmias the heart could possible not be able to pump enough blood throughout your body. This can result in symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, or fainting. This could
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Pacemakers are very expensive coming to $11,500 for patients. It is predicted that half a million of Australians have a heart condition that could benefit from technology like a pacemaker. Most pacemakers aren’t even MRI compatible meaning they cannot participate in MRI scans. MRI’s save lives by detecting problems with the patient, if the patient cannot find the cause of the problem then how can they be treated. Most pacemakers nowadays are inserted through a vein (meaning no open-heart surgery) but could still do damage to blood vessels and other structures located near the heart. If a blood vessel is pierced, bleeding will not be noticed at first. The blood slowly gathers, to make a pocket hematoma. Most of them go away but rarely yet possibly the pacemaker area may have to be re-opened to drain blood. Having the area re-opened could be very costly to the patient bringing them more money …show more content…
That can affect not only the patient but others around them. The lung could be punctured; in most cases, it is small and resolves by itself. In the rare occasion, doctors may have to put a chest tube in the patient to allow the lung to re-expand for normal breathing. There is a possibility of infection, (most infections can be treated with anti-biotics) if the infection gets bad small bits of infected material attach itself to the pacemaker wires spreading to the valves. If this happens the device must be removed. On rare occasion the pacemaker can damage the heart. As the wire is being moved from the right atrium through to the right ventricle, the wire could accidently hit the tricuspid valve resulting in the valve leaking. If it is hit, blood could accumulate stopping the heart from beating normally. This is known as cardiac tamponade and is a medical emergency, the patient is required to immediately evacuate the blood. These symptoms can affect the pacemaker user, family and friends. The pacemaker insertion can be very expensive and could put pressure on the user or family and
Pacemakers are very expensive coming to $11,500 for patients. It is predicted that half a million of Australians have a heart condition that could benefit from technology like a pacemaker. Most pacemakers aren’t even MRI compatible meaning they cannot participate in MRI scans. MRI’s save lives by detecting problems with the patient, if the patient cannot find the cause of the problem then how can they be treated. Most pacemakers nowadays are inserted through a vein (meaning no open-heart surgery) but could still do damage to blood vessels and other structures located near the heart. If a blood vessel is pierced, bleeding will not be noticed at first. The blood slowly gathers, to make a pocket hematoma. Most of them go away but rarely yet possibly the pacemaker area may have to be re-opened to drain blood. Having the area re-opened could be very costly to the patient bringing them more money …show more content…
That can affect not only the patient but others around them. The lung could be punctured; in most cases, it is small and resolves by itself. In the rare occasion, doctors may have to put a chest tube in the patient to allow the lung to re-expand for normal breathing. There is a possibility of infection, (most infections can be treated with anti-biotics) if the infection gets bad small bits of infected material attach itself to the pacemaker wires spreading to the valves. If this happens the device must be removed. On rare occasion the pacemaker can damage the heart. As the wire is being moved from the right atrium through to the right ventricle, the wire could accidently hit the tricuspid valve resulting in the valve leaking. If it is hit, blood could accumulate stopping the heart from beating normally. This is known as cardiac tamponade and is a medical emergency, the patient is required to immediately evacuate the blood. These symptoms can affect the pacemaker user, family and friends. The pacemaker insertion can be very expensive and could put pressure on the user or family and