Development Year: 1958
Inventor: Rune Elmqvist
Description: An artificial cardiac pacemaker (generally referred to as just a pacemaker) is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart, the upper atria or lower ventricles. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to contract and pump blood, thus regulating the function of the electrical conduction system of the heart.
The primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an adequate heart rate, either because the heart’s natural pace is not fast enough, or because there is a block in the heart’s electrical conduction system. Modern pacemakers are externally programmable and allow a cardiologist to select the optimal pacing modes for individual patients. Most pacemakers are on demand, in which the stimulation of the heart is based on the dynamic demand of the circulatory system.
Functionality: The pacemaker sits on the upper left of the chest. Through its wires, it is able to monitor the rate the heart is beating and if it determines its moving too fast, slow, or not at all it delivers an electric shock to restore it to normal.
Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pacemaker-implantation/#:~:text=It%20consists%20of%20a%20pulse,is%20called%20the%20pacing%20rate.