Reno Heart Physicians Install Pacemakers

The heart can be afflicted by many different conditions, each with their own underlying cause and effect. At Reno Heart Physicians, we treat heart ailments with a variety of different options, ranging from medications to invasive and non-invasive procedures. Along with good diet and exercise, these procedures are often enough to fix whatever the problem was. Unfortunately though, there are some conditions that no matter how hard an NV heart physician tries, medication and non-invasive procedures just aren't enough to keep the heart going. In this case an artificial pacemaker must be implanted on the heart in order to keep it stimulated and beating. Conditions that artificial pacemakers are used to treat include:

  • Sinus node dysfunction - the sinoatrial node doesn't fire properly
  • Stokes-Adams attack - the disruption of conduction between the sinoatrial node and the atrioventricular node
  • Bifasciular block - two of the three main fascicles of the His/Purkinje system are blocked
  • Third degree AV block - the impulse generated in the atria does not propagate to the ventricles

NV Heart Physician: Installing a Pacemaker

When the medications aren't enough to keep a heart regularly beating, sometimes more extreme measures have to be taken. Even though having an NV heart physician install a pacemaker is a relatively minor surgical procedure, some people think that having an electronic device attached to their heart is a major operation.

To install a pacemaker, you're first given a local anesthetic and a small incision is made right beneath your collarbone. The lead is then sent through the subclavian vein into the heart and is attached to the surface of heart via an active or passive fixation. The pulse generator is then placed under the skin of the chest and the leads are attached to it and the surgery is complete.

At Reno Heart Physicians, this is a common surgery that is used to alleviate a variety of problems. It is safe and we can guide you through the process step by step.

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