Interdisciplinary Care: Internal Pacemaker

Internal pacemakers are implemented to attend to patients’ complex needs, particularly those that

struggle with heart complications that cause an irregular heartbeat rhythm minute (Naccache,

Salhi & Belhamèche, 2022). Precisely, heat complications that cause the slowing of the

heartbeat. For example, a typical case that demands the placement of an internal pacemaker is

bradycardia, a heart condition that causes the slowing of the heartbeat (Shim, 2020). One of the

leading causes of bradycardia is a heart attack, heart tissue damage, and birth-related heart

disorders.

Background

An internal pacemaker is a healthcare device implanted within the chest, beneath the collarbone,

as a means of helping the regulation of heartbeats. The first successful internal pacemaker was

inserted in 1960; hence the technology is relatively recent because it has undergone improvement

over the years (Naccache, Salhi & Belhamèche, 2022). Therefore, an essential means of

managing patients with heart complications about their heart beat. However, this measure is

permanent; hence the internal pacemaker is inserted when the condition becomes more chronic.

Nonetheless, it is still essential to address how the internal pacemaker works, consisting of 4

chambers with two on both sides of the heart. The heart’s upper, lower, and left chambers to

cooperate to ensure that the heart’s electrical system is working to maintain a more appropriate

heartbeat between 60-100 beats per minute (Naccache, Salhi & Belhamèche, 2022).

Furthermore, the internal pacemaker consists of 2 parts when discussing functionality: the pulse

generator and leads (Sattar et al., 2020). The pulse generator houses the battery and circuits that

regulate the electrical pulses transmitted to the heart. While the leads, also known as the

electrodes, contain between 1-3 electrical wires located in at least one chamber and ensure the