Problems With Temporary Pacemaker Wires

A pacemaker is a small device that works on battery power. Doctors insert temporary pacemakers using wires that go through your neck vein. You may need a temporary pacemaker to fill in for your heart's natural pacemaker if your heart is beating too slowly. However, many healthcare professionals have pointed to some problems with these temporary pacemakers.

Problems With Access

• According to an article in "QJM," an international journal of medicine, doctors in the UK report problems with accessing the veins to place the temporary pacemaker wires in. The doctors report a failure to access the veins in a large number of cases. In fact, these access problems may even result in local trauma or pneumothorax in the patient. And the way the doctor positions the wire, based on the access available, may result in cardiac perforation or irregular heartbeat.

Infection

• Another problem with temporary pacemaker wires is the risk of infection caused by the inadvertent actions of the doctor. According to an article in the Oxford Journals' QJM, as many as 20 percent of patients developed "microbiologically confirmed septicaemia" when the doctor left in the pacing wire for more than 48 hours. This is a significant cause of death, besides resulting in delay in the placement of a permanent pacemaker. As well, there arises a six-fold risk of infection of the permanent system. This could become a cycle, with the infection of temporary wires causing a delay in placing a permanent pacemaker, which leads to more infection.

Specialist Versus Generalist

• According to an article in the "Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal," the data on temporary pacemaker procedures support the premise that specialists have a better record for avoiding complications when they perform this procedure than generalists. This is likely because the cardiology specialists have had much greater exposure to this procedure than the generalists, who may even be novices.