The heart is about the size of a closed fist. It has four chambers. The upper chambers are the right atrium and left atrium. The more powerful lower chambers are called the right ventricle and left ventricle. When the heart is healthy, it easily pumps oxygen-rich blood to your entire body. When heart failure occurs, the heart's ability to pump is limited.
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart's ability to pump blood is weaker than normal, resulting in inadequate circulation of blood around the body. Eventually, heart failure leads to the failure of other vital organs due to this inadequate blood flow. Heart failure affects 5 million Americans, and there are more than 550,000 new cases each year.
As a result of heart failure, you may feel tired and have:
Heart failure is often treated with medicines, diet and lifestyle changes. In some cases, a biventricular pacemaker is needed. This special pacemaker stimulates the right and left ventricles to help them contract in sync and pump more effectively.
The use of this type of pacemaker is often called cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
Standard pacemakers have two wires or leads that send signals (electrical impulses) to specific areas of the heart. One lead is in the right atrium. The other is in the right ventricle. A biventricular pacemaker has a 3rd lead in the left ventricle. This allows timed, coordinated signals to be sent to the right and left ventricles.
As needed, a biventricular pacemaker/defibrillator also can "shock" or defibrillate the heart. This helps control life-threatening heart rhythm problems, sometimes seen in HF patients.
A biventricular pacemaker is about the size of a pager. Like a standard pacemaker, it is often placed in the upper chest area just below the collarbone.
For more information regarding biventricular pacing or to obtain a consultation, please contact the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at 312-NM-HEART (664-3278) or request a first time appointment online.
For more information regarding clinical trials related to heart failure, please visit the Clinical Trials Unit of Northwestern, send an email or call 312-926-4000.