Can a pacemaker be put into someone who has 2 veins into the heart that are 100% blocked?

Question

Can a 81 year old male who has had a bypass over 16 years ago benefit from a pacemaker? This male person had 2 strokes in two months previous to getting the pacemaker. He had been in normal health for someone his age.

What does a pacemaker do? Does it open up the veins and keep them open? Is there a lot of veins into the heart that the pacemaker would attach to or only four?

If the person had 2 veins going into the heart that are 100% blocked, would a pacemaker still work for them?

Does it take a long time for the veins going into someones heart to become 100% blocked or can it happen in a matter of weeks?

Just needed to know and is there any websites that anyone can tell me about, that I can look this stuff up myself?

Thank you for your time with this question.

Tom W.

Answer 1

This may be confusing, but I will try to answer your questions.

Yes, an 81 year old who has had a bypass surgery can benefit from a pacemaker. A pacemaker keeps the heart from beating too slow. This will help him feel better.
It does not keep the bypass veins or coronary arteries open. The two blocked arteries will have nothing to do with the placement and functioning of the pacemaker. A pacemaker is put into different veins that lead to the heart, not the arteries that were bypassed.
You may find more information at the Heart Rhythm Society website.
Also, try Medtronic.com and WebMD
Good Luck. :>)

Answer 2

What you're calling veins is, I think, what's normally called coronary arteries. They aren't part of the pump itself but rather the blood vessels on the outside surface of the muscle that give the heart its own blood supply.
A pacemaker has nothing to do with the coronary arteries at all. The heart has its own electical pacing system, somewhat akin to the distributor, spark plug wires, etc. in a car. When it screws up, an artificial one is placed. The wires are normally threaded from the large vein under the left collarbone down the superior vena cava into the right atrium and ventricle, and the wire tip ends up touching the inside of the muscle in the right ventricle. It sends a spark into the muscle (a very tiny one) that makes the heart beat, about 70 times a minute (this is set at the time of insertion, and the timing can vary). Most pacemakers are programmed only to work if the heart isn't beating quickly enough on its own, the most common reason for getting a pacemaker being a too-slow heartbeat.
Normally the atherosclerotic plaques that build up inside a coronary artery take years or decades to become a problem, and generally those that clog up less than 75% of the pipe aren't considered important, but sometimes they break loose, like scale from inside the plumbing of an old house, and cause an immediate heart attack. Fortunately this is the exception.

Answer 3

His strokes are happening because of blood or fat clots being thrown into his brain from his arteries and veins. A pacemaker keeps time for the heart, making sure it beats regularly. It does not open or keep open the arteries or veins. The patient will need a an additional bypass surgery for the blocked areas, if angioplasty is not possible, before a pacemaker would be of any use. It usually takes years for 100% blockage to occur. A good resource is www.webmd.com. Best of luck to you, Tom.

Answer 4

The best site for you probably is www.webmd.com and look for heart health under conditions and use other appropriate search words.

To my limited knowledge, a pacemaker is meant to correct rhythm disturbances of the heart. whether it can correct circulation problems caused by blockages, I dont' know.

Blockages can develop quickly or can travel from some other place in the body and settle at a spot.

Answer 5

" Two blood vessels, 100% blocked, call for Baloon Angioplasty,
Cardiac Stent Insertion; and possibly another open heart surgery procedure. "

http://medicalcentereast.client.web-health.com/web-health/topics/GeneralHealth/generalhealthsub/generalhealth/cardiovascular/pacemaker.html