Is getting a pacemaker a major surgery?

Baseline patient characteristics are summarized in Table 1: The median patient survival after pacemaker implantation was 101.9 months (approx. 8.5 years) , at 5, 10, 15 and 20 years after implantation 65.6%, 44.8%, 30.8% and 21.4%, respectively, of patients were still alive.

It included 1,517 patients who received their first pacemaker for bradycardia (slow or irregular heart rhythm) between 2003 and 2007. Patients were followed for an average of 5.8 years. The researchers found survival rates of 93%, 81%, 69% and 61% after one, three, five and seven years, respectively.

Pacemaker surgery is generally a minor surgery that may take around 1-2 hours to complete. The pacemaker is implanted under the skin of the chest, and there is no need for open-heart surgery.

You’ll usually be able to do all the things you want to do after around 4 weeks . The time you need off work will depend on your job. Your cardiologist will usually be able to advise you about this. Typically, people who have had a pacemaker fitted are advised to take 3 to 7 days off.