How is a pacemaker checked ?
A pacemaker is checked in our office with a device called a programmer. A pacemaker programmer is a computer which can communicate with the pacemaker using radio waves. Using a programmer we can “interrogate” the pacemaker and determine how efficiently it’s pacing the different chambers of the heart, the remaining life of the pacemakers battery and if there have been any unusual events such as a life-threatening arrhythmia that the pacemaker picked up (even if the patient was unaware that they may have occurred). In addition, aside from just checking a pacemaker, we can reprogram the unit to behave more ideally for the individual patients problem. This periodic fine tuning of the pacemaker will help maximize the benefit that the patient gets from cardiac pacing and also help maximize the pacers battery life because we will adjust the pacemakers energy delivery to more finely match the amount required for that particular patient. Many patients ask us if we perform trans-telephonic (i.e.
