are they the same?

Question

i'm a little lost...my mom is supposed the have surgery to have a difibulator put in her heart...but the hospital told her she is getting a pacemaker...now i'm wondering are they the same or do she need to call and the the hospital that it is not a pacemaker it is a difibulator......PLEASE HELP......

Answer 1

This article will help you out: OK

PACEMAKER:

A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device that helps the heart beat regularly and at an appropriate rate.

Information

A pacemaker generally has two parts:

* Generator - contains the battery and the information to control the heartbeat
* Leads - wires used to connect the heart to the generator and send the electrical impulses to the heart to tell it to beat

Today's generators weigh a little less than an ounce (30 grams). The pacemaker's battery can last about 7 to 8 years. It will be regularly checked by your doctor, and replaced when necessary.

Traditional pacemakers help control the right side of the heart to control the heart beat. This is called AV synchronization. A special type of pacemaker, called a biventricular pacemaker, works on both sides of the heart,. It synchronizes the right and left chambers (ventricles) of the heart and keeps them pumping together. This is called cardiac resynchronization therapy. All of today's biventricular pacemakers can also work as an implantable cardio-defibrillator (ICD).

DEFIBRILLATOR:(defibulator)

Defibrillator: A device used to correct a dangerously abnormal heart rhythm, usually ventricular fibrillation, or to restart the heart by depolarizing its electrical conduction system and delivering brief measured electrical shocks to the chest wall or the heart muscle itself.

SUMMARY:

THE PACEMAKER IS IMPLANTED IN SINU ATRIAL NODE OF THE HEART, WHEREAS DEFIBRILLATOR IS PLANTED AGAINST CHEST WALL OR IN HEART MUSCLE.
BOTH CONTROL THE RHYTHM OF THE HEART AND ARE VIRTUALLY SAME EXCEPT IN THEIR APPLICATION.

Answer 2

They are both electronic devices which can be implanted to control cardiac arrythnmias by sending electrical signals to the heart.
Very basically, the Pacemaker senses the heart rhythm and sends a signal to induce the heart to beat when either the AV (atrioventricular) or SA (sinoatrial) node(s) fail and the heart rate slows below a set rate. A pacemaker can be inserted only into the atrium or ventricle or both depending on the arrhythmia.
The AICD (Automatic Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator) waits for and senses a tachyarrhythmia such as V Fib (ventricular fibrillation), V Tach (ventricular tacchycardia), or SVT (supraventricular tacchycardia) and sends out an electrical current to shock the heart out of the arrhythmia and back into a normal rhythm.
hope this helps.

Answer 3

Some are combined. Her doctor and not the hospital takes care of this.