Going Home
Now that you’ve been checked over and
monitored carefully to make sure the
pacemaker is working properly, you can
prepare to go home. Your heart rate
or pulse now should not fall below 60
beats per minute, unless told otherwise.
Before going home, the nurse will
teach you how to take your pulse. If
your pulse falls below this level, call
your doctor. If you have symptoms of
faintness or dizziness, go to Emergency.
Things you need to know:
• You will go home with a pacemaker
card, which will be replaced with a
permanent card within 6 months.
Keep this with you at all times.
It will be of interest to all future
health care professionals.
• Avoid excessive upper arm activity
for six weeks, i.e., heavy lifting,
golfing, vigorous vacuuming or lawn
cutting. Otherwise, you may resume
all previous activity within your
energy level!
• Keep your
shoulder
dressing clean
and dry. Bandage can be removed
the next day. Shower next day. You
should not soak in a tub or get it
excessively wet and should pat the
area dry. Leave steristrips on until
they fall off.
• There are no restrictions for using
microwaves and house - hold
appliances, these are all safe with
normal use.
• Airport security gates are metal
detectors, and your pacemaker may
trigger this alarm. This will not
harm your pacemaker. If you wish
you may present airport security
with your pacemaker I.D. card; you
will bypass the metal detector and
be hand-searched.
• You will require routine checks of
your pacemaker at the cardiologist’s
office. Your first visit will be six
weeks after surgery, or earlier.
Check with your cardiologist.
• No driving for one week.
• You may consider ordering a medicalert bracelet. The phone number is
in the phone book or an application
is available at any pharmacy.
• Inform your family doctor that you
have had a pacemaker implanted.
Please call your doctor or go to
the Emergency Department if:
 if you notice any signs of infection
at the pacemaker site: redness,
swelling, leaking at the site,
increased soreness or fever;
 if your heart rate is slower than the
lowest rate it has been set to pace at;
 if you have dizziness, shortness of
breath or feel faint;
 if you experience any of the same
symptoms that brought you to the
hospital or doctor’s office in the
first place.
You are Receiving
a Pacemaker
Patient Information
Follow Up Appointment
Call Cardiologist’s office the next
working day to arrange for first
pacemaker appointment.
Any questions or concerns regarding
the pacemaker, please call your
Cardiologist at 604-980-1031.
For more copies, go online at http://vch.eduhealth.ca or email
[email protected] and quote Catalogue No. FD.723.P1142
© Vancouver Coastal Health, September 2011
The information in this document is intended solely for the person
to whom it was given by the health care team.
www.vch.ca
Lions Gate Hospital
231 East 15th Street
North Vancouver BC V7L 2L7
Tel: 604-988-3131
You’re having a Pacemaker...
Before Surgery
In the Operating Room
After the Surgery
You and your physician have decided
you need to have a pacemaker. This
pamphlet will outline what you can
expect before, during and after your
pacemaker is inserted.
Your permanent
pacemaker requires
insertion by a
surgeon in the
operating room. The
pacemaker is placed
on top of the pectoral
muscle in the front
of your shoulder or upper chest area.
The procedure takes about 45 minutes
depending on the number of wires you
require (i.e. 1 or 2).
You will be transferred to the operating
room table. A nurse and an anaesthetist
are present at all times. You will be
awake during this procedure. The
anaesthetist will give you intravenous
medication for your general comfort
as well as any anxiety you may be
experiencing. Please talk and ask for
medication during the procedure.
When the pacemaker surgery is
finished, you will be observed for
3 hours. You will have a chest x-ray
and electrocardiogram to check the
pacemaker.
In addition to the information in this
pamphlet, other sources of information
are available to you on the ward in
the form of books, videos and model
pacemakers.
What is a Pacemaker?
A pacemaker is an electronic device
that provides an electrical signal to
the heart muscle for the control of a
person’s heart rate. It initiates and
maintains the heart rate when the
natural pacemakers of the heart are
unable to do so.
How does it work?
A pacemaker consist of:
1. A small metal generator containing
a battery (the power source).
2. Insulated wire(s) that carry the
electrical signal from the generator
to the heart. At the tip of the lead
wire is an “electrode” that makes
contact with the heart muscle. This
electrode becomes secured in the
heart as healing takes place.
Preparation prior to surgery includes:
• Bloodwork
• Chest x-ray
• A shave of your chest on the side
opposite your dominant hand.
i.e. if you are right - handed, the left
chest is shaved.
• Saline lock (intravenous access)
• Signing a consent form for the
special procedure
• Nothing to eat or drink from
midnight the evening prior to
surgery
• A shower the day before or morning
of surgery if possible
The surgeon will cover or drape your
chest to keep the area sterile during
the procedure. At this point, you will be
unable to see anything in front of you
but you will be able to hear everything.
The surgeon freezes the area although
you can expect to feel some pushing and
pressure. If you are sore at all, please
talk to the doctor.
For the first few hours you may feel
drowsy if medication was administered
in the operating room. You are able to
eat or drink 1 hour following surgery.
The first time you get up to use the
bathroom please call for assistance
even if you feel fine.
Once the freezing begins to wear off
you will probably feel some soreness
at the pacemaker site. Please ask for
pain medication before the soreness
is unbearable as the medication takes
30 - 40 minutes before it begins to
take effect. Your blood pressure, pulse
and dressing will
be checked fairly
frequently for the
first few hours.
You will be
discharged several
hours after your
surgery or on occasion the next
morning following a cardiogram.