What Are the Side Effects of a Heart Pacer?

The heart muscle, in the center of your chest cavity, acts as a pump to circulate blood through the entire body to carry oxygen and various nutrients to all of your organs. When your heart is not functioning properly, medical intervention is needed to help correct the problem. One alternative is the use of a heart pacer.

A heart pacer, better known as an artifical pacemaker or pacer, is a small device that is implanted in people with bradycardia (a slow heart rate) or other heart abnormalities. This battery-operated device is implanted either in the abdomen or directly below the collar bone underneath the skin. This procedure is usually performed with local anesthetic and a mild sedative with the patient awake, but is sometimes performed with the patient completely sedated. As with any surgical procedure, there can be side effects or complications that arise from the implantation of such devices.

Infections

• Infections are one of the most common problems that occur after surgery. Physicians will generally order intravenous antibiotics for patients who have a compromised immune system or as a preventative measure to assist in the healing process of pacemaker implantations. There are several signs to look for that may indicate post-surgery infection: fever, chills, redness or swelling at the surgical site, and any drainage from the insertion site. The area of the insertion site also may feel warm to the touch. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately.

Excessive Bleeding

• Bleeding is a large concern for physicians after heart pacer surgery. Excessive loss of blood can cause a patient to go into shock and possibly result in death. Several blood tests are performed prior to surgery to determine the clotting factor for each patient. A majority of the patients having a heat pacer implanted are on some sort of blood thinner for one reason or another. Patients are required to stop taking all blood thinners several days prior to surgery to help avoid excessive bleeding. Once home, if you notice any bleeding from the insertion site, contact your physician. If the bleeding cannot be controlled, call 911 immediately.

Malfunction of Pacer

• Many things can cause a heart pacer to malfunction. A lead in the heart pacer could come loose, a battery may not be functioning properly, or electromagnetic fields such as a microwave, cell phone or airport security detector could cause the heart pacer to malfunction. Even a very hot bath could interfere with the heart pacer by causing the heart rate to increase dramatically. Make sure to keep all electrical devices, including cell phones, more than 6 inches away from the insertion site. Try to avoid radar machinery, magnetic fields and anything with high voltage to prevent heart pacer malfunction. Also, patients with heart pacer cannot undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Rupture of Heart Muscle

• A puncture or rupture of the heart muscle is rare during these surgeries. However, this may sometimes occur during the procedure when the lead is threaded through a catheter through the vein and into the heart. The easiest way to avoid this from happening is to remain completely still during the procedure.

Pnuemothorax

• When air becomes trapped between the lung and the lining around the lung (the pleural space), the lung can collapse. This is known as a pneumothorax. This rarely occurs with heart pacer surgery, but it is a possible complication. If this were to occur, the physician would insert a chest tube to re-inflate the lung.

Heart Pacer Battery

• A heart pacer's battery life is about six years. However, it depends on how often the pacer has to regulate the heartbeat and how large or small the heart pacer unit is. At your follow-up appointments with your physician, the doctor will check the battery in your heart pacer. This will be checked at every visit. There also may be a beeper mechanism inside your heart pacer that will alert you should the battery become low.