What does pacemaker implantation involve?
A pacemaker is usually implanted under local anaesthetic. It generally takes ½ to 1 hour, and is performed in a ‘cardiac catheterisation laboratory’. All you have to do is lie on an x-ray table. Your heart rhythm, blood pressure and the oxygen level in your blood are monitored continuously. The doctor will put local anaesthetic under the skin below your collar bone. The anaesthetic stings for a few seconds as it gets to work but the area rapidly goes numb. You may also be given light sedation at this time so that you will be awake but relaxed and a little drowsy. An incision about 3-4 cms long is made below the collarbone. The next stage of the procedure is for the doctor to find a vein through which the leads are passed to the heart. This is not in any way uncomfortable although you may feel a few extra heart beats for a short period. Care is taken to find the ideal position for the lead or leads and you will hear numbers being called out, referring to measurements made through the le
