Maryland Heart Center

Arrhythmias

More about Pacemakers and Defibrillators:

For More Information

If you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services, please call 410-328-6056 (patients) or 410-328-6056 or 1-800-318-1019 (physicians).

The procedure for implanting either pacemakers or defibrillators is very similar. It takes about two to three hours from start to finish.

First, a small incision is made in the chest below the clavicle and to access one of the larger veins, in the upper part of the body. Then, one or more wires are advanced into the heart. Once they are placed in appropriate places in the heart, they are connected to a generator and a pocket is made under the skin and the generator is placed there.

For either procedure (pacemaker or defibrillator implantation), the patient stays overnight in the hospital and can go home the next day. The patient can go back to full unrestricted activity within a month, and can resume full activity within a couple of days.

We also implant special pacemakers and defibrillators that are designed to help people who have congestive heart failure. These devices have a special wire that can pace the left ventricle which can improve cardiac function.

At the Maryland Heart Center, we follow defibrillators and pacemakers long term, and have extensive experience with these devices. Between pacemaker and defibrillator implantations, we perform between 250 and 300 procedures a year. We also take care of pacemaker and defibrillator complications that occur, even if you've had them implanted at another hospital.

As part of our commitment and desire to develop better treatments for our patients, our physicians are consistently conducting research. We have years of experience with defibrillator research, design and implantations, and are well known nationally for our defibrillation research.

Please call if you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services. Patients dial 1-800-492-5538 or 410-328-5842, physicians dial 410-328-6622 or 1-800-318-1019.