I fibers, like those in the heart, allow sustained action without muscular fatigue. The type II fibers found in the skeletal muscle allow it to perform faster activities of limited duration. The lead transmits this information to a muscle-pacing channel, which directs these impulses to a second lead, a system of insulated wires. For approximately six weeks, physicians stimulate the skeletal muscle by increasing the impulse voltage for longer periods of time. This continues until the muscle fibers complete the chemical transformation necessary to regularly beat like the heart without tiring.
Conventional pacemakers deliver a single pulse to trigger contraction of heart-muscle cells.
The sophisticated pacemaker used in cardiomyoplasty, called a cardiomyostimulator, sends multiple, precisely timed and controlled bursts of impulses to stimulate contraction of the muscle fibers. It creates a beat more like that of the heart. The Heart Hospital produces specialty cardiac diagnostic, treatment and preventive services that are among the most advanced in the region.