"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only
one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one."
~ John Lennon
Spreading hope is not easy, especially when we lose it
among our loaded life, but here we are, come to hold a lamp and lighten the
road for those young minds which dream of future and need our hand to feel
secure and courage, and today is our first session of Biomedicalism that grabs
not bad numbers of attendees who are interested,
Boston Scientific is a
company on the forefront of Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) therapy. The
Cardiac Rhythm Management group works with the Electrophysiology group to
develop therapies for abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and heart failure.
We are talking about Pacemakers;
a pacemaker is implanted to treat bradycardia (an abnormally slow heart rate).
Pacemakers can also adjust the heart rate to meet the body's needs, whether
during exercise or rest. Implantation of a pacemaker involves positioning leads
(thin, insulated wires) in the heart and placing the device in a pocket of
skin, usually in the shoulder area. Typically the implant procedure involves
only local anesthetics and a sedative, rather than general anesthesia. Most
people have a fairly quick recovery after a pacemaker implant.
What Is a Pacemaker?
A pacemaker is a small
implantable device that treats abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias. Specifically, a pacemaker treats
slow arrhythmias called bradycardia.
Arrhythmias result from a
problem in the heart's electrical system. Electrical signals follow a certain
pathway through the heart. It is the movement of these signals that causes your
heart to contract.
During a slow arrhythmia, not
enough electrical signals are moving through the heart. The heart beats too slowly, and you may feel symptoms such as
fatigue.
A pacemaker restores your
heart to a normal rhythm. A pacemaker can also adjust its therapy to meet your body's needs. The device
has sensors that can detect, when you rest and need a slow heart rate and when
you exercise and need a faster heart rate
How Do Pacemakers Work?
Pacemakers do not take over
the work of the heart. After you have a pacemaker, your heart still does all its own work. Rather, the pacemaker merely
helps to regulate the timing and sequence
of your heart beat.
Pacemakers consist of two
major parts: the generator and the leads.
The generator is
essentially a tiny computer (along with a battery and other electronic components), housed in a hermetically sealed
titanium container. Most modern pacemaker
generators are roughly the size of a 50-cent piece, and approximately three times as thick.
A lead is a flexible, insulated wire that
carries electrical signals back and forth between the pacemaker generator and the heart. One end of the lead is attached
to the generator, and the other end is
inserted through a vein into the heart. Most pacemakers today use two leads; one is placed in the right atrium and the other in the right ventricle.
