Health Tip: How a Pacemaker Helps the Heart

(HealthDay News) - A pacemaker is a small, battery-powered
device that is implanted in the skin of the chest or abdomen, and helps
regulate the heartbeat.

Here are reasons for why a pacemaker may be prescribed, courtesy of the
U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:

• To correct a slow, fast or irregular heartbeat.


• To ensure that the heart%26#39;s ventricles contract normally, in cases of
  atrial fibrillation.


• To regulate the electrical signals between the upper and lower
  chambers of the heart, and in other cases, between the ventricles of the
  heart.