But among the most terrifying of that trio can be the experience that comes when something goes wrong with your heart. It may be simple fatigue, or you may faint. You may have puffy ankles, weight gain or other fluid retention. You may have a heartbeat that’s out of synch, as your natural functions fail to regulate the heartbeat.
That’s when you may need a pacemaker, a small device that can help regulate the beats of your heart when it experiences something called arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat.
The pacemaker offers electronic stimulation that helps the heart get back on a regular beat. For most people, it’s a surgical implantation that’s just under your chest skin and near your collarbone. The surgeon then hooks the device to your heart with small wires. The implant may not be permanent – some people just need a little extra help after a traumatic event like a heart attack.
Some cases are even more minor, and the patient wears the stimulation device on the outside of the skin, carrying a battery unit in their belt area to keep the device powered.
Pacemakers are becoming more popular as treatment. A Journal of the American College of Cardiology report found approximately 121,300 pacemakers were implanted in the U.S. in 1993. That figure rose to 188,700 by 2009, a 56 percent increase. The pacemaker frenzy peaked in 2001 and since has leveled off.