Your Cardiologist may recommend that you have a permanent pacemaker implanted if you have an abnormally slow heart rhythm. This involves passing thin electrical wires into the right side of the heart and attaching them to a small battery-powered pulse generator which is implanted below the skin. This will ensure that heart beats at an appropriate rate. This procedure is very safe and highly effective in alleviating the symptoms caused by a slow heart rate (eg dizziness, fainting). Modern pacemakers are very advanced: most patients are able to forget that they have them and are able to enjoy leading a normal life.

Your Consultant Cardiologist will discuss the pacemaker treatment in detail with you and will perform the procedure personally at a local hospital. The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic and is undertaken as a day-case.

Within 24 hours of your pacemaker procedure having been completed your Cardiologist will send a detailed report of the procedure to your General Practitioner, requesting that his/her Practice Nurse reviews your pacemaker incision 1 week after the procedure and cuts or removes any skin stitches. We will contact you on the day after your pacemaker has been implanted to see how you are feeling and to answer any questions that you might have. We will organise an appointment for you to come back and see your Cardiologist 2 weeks after the procedure to check your progress. Once you have had a pacemaker implanted its function will need to be checked every 6 months in a pacemaker clinic. We will arrange this for you and you will be contacted directly to arrange a convenient appointment time.