Implantable Defibrillator
Heart disease is a huge problem, both in the United States and the rest of the World. If you or your family member suffers from heart disease, you are not alone. This is a common issue, particularly for the aging population. The heart is the most important organ in the body because it is the motor that keeps us running. For sure, without our heart, we wouldn’t live very long. So these two facts, common heart illness and its importance, are good reasons to develop tools to fight the disease. One of the tools that have been developed by researchers is an implantable defibrillator. This is a tool that allows for a patient to have a constant monitoring of their heart to make sure it continues to beat like it should.
How an Implantable Defibrillator Works
For those that have been told by their doctor they need an implantable defibrillator, it may be a bit overwhelming. What do these machines do? Why do I need one? How is it different from a pacemaker? These are all common, relevant questions. First, the implantable defibrillator is a machine that will “shock” the heart back to life. This “shock” is essentially electrical impulses to kick start the beating of the very important organ. Normally, the heart sends itself a signal to keep beating in a rhythmic motion, but sometimes this can go awry. When that happens, it is time to for a little help from an implantable defibrillator.
The implantable defibrillator is inserted into a patient’s chest and it constantly monitors the heart’s electrical signals. If something was to happen and the heart’s signals stop working, the implantable defibrillator would step in and do the work for the heart. This would hopefully get the heart beating again like it is supposed to beat. The difference between a pacemaker and an implantable defibrillator is the pacemaker is always working, by controlling the beating of your heart, particularly when your pacemaker cells don’t do their job. The implantable defibrillator, on the other hand, only steps in when absolutely necessary. This is the key difference between the two. Knowing which of the two you need, if either, is something your doctor should be able to tell you.
Getting an Implantable Defibrillator
When you are getting an implantable defibrillator, you should understand how it changes things for you and your activity level. While there are some changes associated with getting it, you should first know that it doesn’t make your heart any stronger than it was before you got it. In fact, it does not change your heart’s health in any substantial way. If you had a weak heart before the implantable defibrillator, you will have a weak heart after. What you do have now, though, is a safety net, which will save you if something were to happen. Are they fail-proof? No, they aren’t. In fact, they aren’t going to be able to always save you. But not having one will almost always lead to death if emergency personnel are not around, so it serves as a good option for a lot of heart disease-ridden patients.
