When this happens, the heart may not pump blood effectively. The person may also feel these erratic beats as palpitations. If the body's natural pacemaker is not sending proper signals to the heart muscle, doctors may suggest an artificial pacemaker. A pacemaker is a battery-operated machine that tells the heart muscle when to beat. Modern pacemakers are usually placed under the skin in a patient's chest.
Wires connect to the heart.
One set of wires tells the pacemaker what the heart's contraction rate is. Another set of wires tells the chambers in the heart to contract if the rate is too slow or too erratic. Pacemakers can be set to increase the heart rate if the body needs more blood and to slow it down if the body is resting. Pacemakers have allowed many patients who were handicapped by slow heartbeats to lead normal lives. The pacemaker battery usually last 4 to 12 years.