Dear Ashleigh:
In answer to your question about how I am, I'm just fine, thank you. Do not feel sorry for people with pacemakers, feel sorry for them if they didn't have them. Back in the *old* days when there were no pacemakers, people who had slow heart beats were too sick to work or play. When pacemakers came along, people who had had to stay in bed all day because they were so weak and tired, were able to live normal lives.
Here is a little bit of trivia for you: The first implantable permanent pacemaker was put into a patient in October of 1958, in Sweden. Would you believe it, that patient is still alive and has had 18 pacemakers since his first one!
I will now try to answer your questions.
1. Does it actually save people's lives? Yes, in some cases. People who have a condition known as "complete heart block" sometimes need the pacemaker to work for them all the time because their own heart rate is very, very slow (in many cases -zero!). Some of these people could not live without the pacemaker.
2. How long does it take for the operation of putting the pacemaker in the body? It depends. If everything goes the way it is supposed to, the patient is usually away from his or her room for about 1.5 hours, sometimes less, sometimes a little more. If the patient is having one pacemaker replaced and another inserted, the time is usually about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
I will tell you how the pacemaker is inserted if you want to know, but, it's kind of icky. You should take a look at the pacemaker and lead that I sent and talk to your science teacher about how the veins go from the top part of the chest down into the heart. Which side of the heart do you think the pacemaker wire is placed into?
3. Does the person need to go to the recovery room after they have their operation? Believe it or not, most patients are wide awake when the pacemaker is put in. The doctor gives them a little medicine to help them relax, but otherwise the patient is able to talk to the doctors, nurses and technicians in the room.
If the patient is not put to sleep, the patient, strictly speaking, does not *have* to go to the recovery room. Some hospitals have a rule that requires the patient go to the recovery room, but this is only to wait until the doctor has had a chance to write orders to the nurses for taking care of the patient when he/she returns to the room. If the patient is put to sleep then the patient will have to go to the recovery room until he/she is awake enough to be returned to the room.
I hope I have answered your questions so that you have a better understanding of the operation. Please write me anytime if you have more questions about pacemakers or the hospital.
Stay in touch,
Your new Key Pal from Coral Springs, FL
D-)
Delos Johnson