page_title: Artificial cardiac pacemaker
section_title: Transvenous pacing (temporary)
hierarchical_section_title: Artificial cardiac pacemaker / Methods of pacing / Transvenous pacing (temporary)
caption_attribution_description: English: Right atrial and right ventricular leads as visualized under X-ray during a pacemaker implant procedure. The atrial lead is the curved one making a U shape in the upper left part of the figure.
context_page_description: A cardiac pacemaker, is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to cause the heart muscle chambers to contract and therefore pump blood; by doing so this device replaces and/or regulates the function of the electrical conduction system of the heart.
  The primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an adequate heart rate, either because the heart's natural pacemaker is not fast enough, or because there is a block in the heart's electrical conduction system. Modern pacemakers are externally programmable and allow a cardiologist, particularly a cardiac electrophysiologist to select the optimal pacing modes for individual patients. A specific type of pacemakers called defibrillator combines pacemaker and defibrillator functions in a single implantable device, which should be called only defibrillator, for clarity. Others, called biventricular pacemakers have multiple electrodes stimulating differing positions within the lower heart chambers to improve synchronization of the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart.
context_section_description: Transvenous pacing, when used for temporary pacing, is an alternative to transcutaneous pacing. A pacemaker wire is placed into a vein, under sterile conditions, and then passed into either the right atrium or right ventricle. The pacing wire is then connected to an external pacemaker outside the body. Transvenous pacing is often used as a bridge to permanent pacemaker placement. It can be kept in place until a permanent pacemaker is implanted or until there is no longer a need for a pacemaker and then it is removed.
caption: Right atrial and right ventricular leads as visualized under x-ray during a pacemaker implant procedure. The atrial lead is the curved one making a U shape in the upper left part of the figure.
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