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The Henry Ford Heart & Vascular Institute is at the forefront of advances in pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Our experience with the latest cardiac devices and techniques ensures your heart is in the most capable hands.
We use pacemakers and defibrillators to control arrhythmias and help people with heart failure and other heart disorders. We implant these devices with a small, minimally invasive procedure. We typically have you stay in the hospital a day or two to make sure the device works the way it should.
We have decades of experience helping people who need pacemakers or defibrillators. Here you’ll find:
A pacemaker is a small, battery-powered device that controls your heart’s rhythm. You might need a pacemaker for many of the arrhythmias we treat, including if your heartbeat is:
We use various types of pacemakers. A single chamber pacemaker controls the heart’s right bottom chamber (ventricle). A dual chamber pacemaker controls both the upper (atrium) and lower (ventricle) chambers on the right side of your heart.
How it works:
A defibrillator, or ICD, is a battery-powered device that can deliver a shock if your heart’s rhythm gets out of sync. Most new ICDs work as both defibrillators and pacemakers.
We may recommend an ICD if your heart beats too fast or has an erratic rhythm. We may also recommend one if you have a heart condition that puts you at risk of developing a life-threatening heart rhythm disorder. These devices are common treatments for potentially dangerous heart rhythm disorders such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. They can prove life saving for people with these arrhythmias.
How ICDs work:
Leadless pacemakers don’t have the wires found in traditional devices. We implant leadless pacemakers directly into the heart. Currently, we use leadless pacemakers for arrhythmias in the right bottom chamber (ventricle) of the heart.
Subcutaneous defibrillators (S-ICDs) use a pulse generator implanted near your armpit. The generator is connected to a lead (wire) that runs below your skin above your breastbone. The pulse generator contains a tiny battery-powered computer that senses your heart’s electrical activity.
Subcutaneous defibrillators and leadless pacemakers are new technologies, but they do have several advantages:
We offer many specialized pacemakers and defibrillators, many through clinical trials. Specialized treatments we offer include:
Let us help you schedule an appointment.
Know your heart risk in just 5 minutes! Take our Get Heart Smart quiz today and you will get a personalized heart risk report that could help you live healthier and longer.
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Henry Ford Health System is committed to ensuring our Deaf or hard-of-hearing patients and visitors have equal access to all services. We provide the appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including qualified sign language interpreters, TTYs and other assistive listening devices, at no cost. To request assistance, call 313-916-1896 or email CommunicationAccess@hfhs.org.