While a heart pacemaker should not be confused with the natural pacemaker of the heart, an artificial pacemaker is a medical device which serves to help people who suffer from heart problems. Many people are unaware as to how a pacemaker works. It is a fairly simple device that works by using electrical currents which come into contact with the heart’s muscles by way of electrodes. This in turn helps to regulate the beating of the heart.

The heart’s natural pacemaker is responsible for regulating the heart’s beats at a certain pace. However, if sometimes the natural pacemaker fails in doing so. That is where artificial pacemakers step in to fulfil the role of the heart’s natural pacemaker.

For more severe cases, technology has made it possible to combine a defibrillator into the electronic heart pacemaker unit. Modern medical and technological advances have also allowed pacemakers to become more easily programmable from external sources.

While experiments were taking place into pacemakers as far back as 1889, it was not until 1958 that an artificial and implantable pacemaker was first used. The first patient to use the device was Arne Larson who used twenty-two such devices over the course of his life.

Implantable pacemakers are inserted into the patient by way of a straightforward surgery process. A local anesthetic is always used and antibiotics are provided afterwards to prevent any infection that could be caused as an effect of the operation. With an incision made just below the left collar bone, the pacemaker is inserted into the body and the leads are wired up to the heart with the use of a fluoroscope to make sure everything is going into the right place.

A person who lives with an artificial heart pacemaker is usually required to visit the doctor once in a while so that the doctor can see that everything is working correctly and that the patient is remaining healthy.

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