Treatment: Pacemaker operation

You may benefit from a pacemaker if you have a heart rhythm disorder where your heart rate is very slow (bradycardia).

Before the treatment, you will receive a letter informing you about fasting and medication and what to bring with you in connection with your treatment.

A relative or friend is welcome to stay at the hospital before, during and after your treatment.

You must arrange for a relative to collect you when you are discharged.

On the day you are admitted, a nurse will meet you to help you settle in and provide information about your stay in hospital. You will be informed of the exact time of your treatment, as well as any special precautions that will be taken during the procedure.

A plastic cannula will be inserted into a vein in your arm. Your blood pressure and pulse will be monitored, and blood samples will be taken, as well as an ECG being performed.

You will be given an antibiotic injection to prevent infection.

The cardiologist will speak to you immediately before the procedure to explain what will happen. There will be plenty of time for this discussion, and your relatives are, of course, welcome to join you.

The pacemaker implantation takes one to two hours.

The procedure is carried out under local anesthetic. One or two incisions are made in the skin on one side of the chest. Through the incision, one, two or three pacemaker leads are guided to the heart via a blood vessel. You may experience some discomfort in the form of palpitations when these are placed in the heart. The pacemaker itself is then placed under the skin. The pacemaker and leads are connected, after which the skin is closed. Before you are taken back to your ward, the pacemaker is checked and adjusted.

If desired and necessary, sedatives are administered so that you can doze off during the procedure.

When you return to your ward, you will be offered food and drink. You will not usually need to stay in bed after the operation. If you experience pain at the incision site, you will be offered painkillers. It is important that, despite any pain, you move the arm on the side where the pacemaker has been implanted. The cardiologist will have a follow-up consultation with you before discharge.

Discharge day

In the morning, your heart rhythm will be checked and you will be given your discharge papers. We will send a discharge letter and a description of your treatment to your GP and the hospital that referred you to us.

You will be discharged after breakfast at around 8:30 am.

Transport home 

You must arrange for a relative to collect you when you are discharged.

Back home

The water-repellent plaster must remain in place for the first four to five days after the procedure. The wound has been sutured with dissolvable thread, so the stitches do not need to be removed. If you experience pain from the wound, you can take painkillers such as 1 gram of Paracetamol up to four times a day. You can drive once the pain from the wound has subsided.

You should be able to move your arm freely, but for the first 14 days you should avoid raising your arm above shoulder height. Women are advised to wear a bra for the first month.

You should watch out for any redness, swelling or tenderness around the wound, or a fever. If any of these symptoms occur, it is important that you contact us or your own doctor.

On discharge, you will be given a copy of the hospital’s pacemaker record, which you should keep until you receive the official plastic pacemaker card. This will be sent to you a few weeks after the procedure. The pacemaker card indicates that you have a pacemaker and specifies the type of pacemaker you have. You should always carry the card with you.

Show the card to doctors, dentists, physiotherapists and at the airport.

Complications are rare. The overall risk of experiencing significant complications is less than 5%.

Pacemaker leads may lose contact with the heart muscle. This usually occurs shortly after the pacemaker is implanted. In that case, the lead must be repositioned.

In extremely rare cases, bleeding or infection may occur in the pacemaker pocket, or air may enter the pleural cavity. These issues will be treated immediately.

Some patients have expressed fears of not being able to die a natural death after having a pacemaker implanted — such fears are unfounded. A pacemaker does not prolong life in an unnatural way.

In the event of death, the pacemaker must be removed by a doctor. You should inform your relatives of this.