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By Mayo Clinic staffOnce your pacemaker is implanted, it should last five to 10 years, which is the average battery life. When a pacemaker's battery wears out, the entire pacemaker's pulse generator is replaced, and you'll need another procedure to fix your device. The leads of your pacemaker can be left in place, and the procedure to change your pacemaker's battery is often quicker and requires less recovery time than the procedure to first implant your pacemaker.
Pacemakers are a standard treatment for many conditions affecting your heart's electrical system. By preventing a slow heart rate, pacemakers can treat symptoms such as fatigue, lightheadedness and fainting. Because most of today's pacemakers automatically adjust your heart rate to match your level of physical activity, they can allow you to resume a more active lifestyle.
- Pacemaker. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pace/pace_all.html. Accessed Sept. 5, 2008.
- Wood MA, et al. Cardiac pacemakers from the patient's perspective. Circulation. 2002;105(18):2136-2138.
- Saxon LA, et al. Overview of cardiac pacing in heart failure. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Cheng J, et al. The role of pacemakers in the prevention of atrial fibrillation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Hayes DL. Indications for permanent cardiac pacing. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Olshansky B. Indications for temporary cardiac pacing. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Pacemakers. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=24 Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Shea JB, et al. A patient's guide to living with atrial fibrillation. Circulation. 2008;117(20):e340-e343.
