Pacemaker Infections

A pacemaker is a small, electrical device placed in your chest or stomach, with attachments to the heart, which uses electrical impulses to treat abnormal heart rhythms. They can be used for temporary heart problems and removed at a later time or left in permanently.

Surgery

• The surgery to implant a pacemaker takes a few hours and requires moderate sedation, meaning that you are given medicine that makes you very relaxed and but does not completely put you unconscious. You are admitted over night to monitor your heart rhythms.

Risks

• As with any surgical procedure, pacemaker implantation has a number of risks associated with it. They include infection of the surgical site, swelling, excessive bleeding, nerve damage, collapsed lung or an adverse reaction to medications administered.

Infection

• Infection of the surgical site is perhaps the most serious of all the risks. Typically patients are given antibiotics prior to surery to prevent infection. Infection rates are higher in patients who do not receive these antibiotics. Infection rates are also higher in male patients and in younger patients.

Risk Factors for Infection

• Additional risk factors for pacemaker infection include obesity, history of diabetes, cancer, impaired kidney (renal) function, prior or current skin conditions, corticosteroid use and any disorder that depresses the immune system.

Types

• Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most commonly found infectious organisms, according to a study performed by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.