Can A Pacemaker Strengthen My Heart?
Dr. Myerburg answers the question: 'Can A Pacemaker Strengthen My Heart?'
— -- Question: I have heard that pacemakers can strengthen my heart, is this true?
Answer :Pacemakers of a certain variety can be used to strengthen the heartbeat. In most instances, the pacemakers are used for the purpose of increasing the heart rate in a patient who has too slow a heart rate. In that circumstance, pacemakers do not increase the strength of a heartbeat.
However, recently developed technology has come into use that uses a process called biventricular pacing in which two sites on the ventricles are paced simultaneously in order to synchronize the heartbeat in patients who have advanced heart disease and poor heart function from a pumping point of view. In that circumstance, pacemakers do indeed improve and strengthen the heartbeat. But for the convention use of pacemakers for a slow heart rate, the pacing does not strengthen the heartbeat.
