Pacemakers are small medical devices that are used to treat heart rhythm problems, such as bradycardia (a slow heart rate). They work by sending electrical signals to the heart to help it maintain a normal rhythm.

Pacemakers are typically recommended for people who have had a heart attack, heart failure, or other heart problems that have caused their heart to beat too slowly or irregularly. They may also be recommended for people who have had surgery to treat certain heart conditions.

Pacemakers are usually implanted in a surgical procedure that takes about an hour. The procedure is usually performed by a cardiologist or a cardiovascular surgeon. It is typically done under local anesthesia, with the patient awake but numb from the waist up.

The benefits of a pacemaker include improved symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and fainting spells, and an increased lifespan. The risks of the procedure include infection, bleeding, and damage to blood vessels or nerves.

Pacemakers are fairly common, with hundreds of thousands of pacemakers implanted each year in the United States alone.

According to the American College of Cardiology (ACC), pacemakers may be recommended for people who have certain heart rhythm problems that cause symptoms or put them at risk for other health problems. Some of the indications for a pacemaker, as outlined by the ACC, include:

  1. Bradycardia (a slow heart rate): Pacemakers may be recommended for people who have a resting heart rate that is consistently below 50 beats per minute and who have symptoms such as fatigue, lightheadedness, or fainting.
  2. Heart block: Pacemakers may be recommended for people who have a type of heart block, a condition in which the electrical signals that coordinate the beating of the heart are disrupted.
  3. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT): Pacemakers that can deliver electrical signals to both the upper and lower chambers of the heart (biventricular pacemakers) may be recommended for people with heart failure and certain types of heart block.
  4. Syncope (fainting): Pacemakers may be recommended for people who have recurrent episodes of fainting that are not caused by other conditions, such as low blood pressure.
  5. Asystole: Pacemakers may be recommended for people who have asystole, a type of cardiac arrest in which the heart is not contracting at all.

These are just a few of the indications for pacemaker therapy. It is important to discuss your specific situation with your doctor to determine whether a pacemaker is appropriate for you.

Here are a few references on pacemakers: