Project Overview:
The heart's natural pacemaker is an electrical timing device that controls the rate of the heart's muscular contractions, enabling the heart to pump blood under the wide range of demands encountered in daily life. Everyone's heart speeds up or slows down under different conditions and may on occasion appear to flutter or miss a beat. These palpitations are usually minor and transitory. However, sometimes the heart's electrical system malfunctions and serious rhythm disorders result. These cardiac arrhythmias can be debilitating and even life-threatening, but the recent availability of artificial pacemakers and the recent advent of implantable defibrillators have revolutionized treatment. Today, physicians can help patients by using electronic devices that directly counter these serious rhythm disturbances. Implantable electronic devices have been developed to treat both abnormally slow heart rates (bradycardias) and excessively rapid heart rates (tachycardias). Such rhythm disorders arise because of disruptions to the normal production or transmission of electrical impulses within the heart. The heart's natural pacemaker is the sinus node (SN), located in the upper right atrium near the point where blood returning from the head and limbs reenters the heart. Specialized cells in this node emit electrical impulses at the rate of about 70 per minute. These impulses spread throughout the atria and travel to the ventricles via the atrioventricular node (AV node). The electrical system ensures that impulses reach the right part of the heart at the right time and at the right pace, coordinating the contraction of the heart muscle so that it can pump effectively. When the sinus node fails to generate impulses or transmission is blocked in some part of the electrical system, an abnormally slow heart rate can result. Assuming that this bradycardia is not the side effect of a medication or produced by some other reversible condition, the most likely cause is disease in the sinus node, the AV node, or some other part of the conduction pathway. If the patient is experiencing symptoms and the heart beat is extremely slow (below 45 or 50), the condition may be markedly improved by an artificial pacemaker. There are, however, many people who function normally with slow heart rates of 40-50 and evidence of some degree of heart block. Pacemakers are generally reserved for those with symptoms and advanced degrees of block.
Abstract/Summary:
Human heart contain SA node which generate impulse for functioning of heart. It is known as natural pacemaker. If natural pacemaker is failed then required pulse from externally. So Artificial pacemaker is a device detects the heart pulse from ECG signal. If there is no pulse, the artificial pacemaker generates pulse. An artificial pacemaker is a battery-operated device that is programmed to keep the heart beating at a certain rate. It is inserted by placing a special wire (catheter) into the right side of the heart and attaching the wire to a small, metal-covered battery that is placed just under the skin in the upper chest or sometimes in the abdomen. Insertion causes little discomfort and is done with the patient awake. The stitches are removed about a week later. So, pacemaker is electronic cardiac support device that produce rhythmic electric impulse that take over the regulation of the heart beat in patient with certain type of heart disease.