DEAR DR. GOTT: Please talk about pacemakers. I recently had to get one and would like to know as much about them as possible.

DEAR READER: Shame on your surgeon for not answering all your questions and putting your fears to rest before the surgery was ever performed! While I don’t know your medical history, age, medications and a host of other essential information, I will do my best to fill in the blanks.

A pacemaker is an electrical unit about the size of a pocket watch placed in the chest or abdomen to help the heart beat normally. It is used to treat arrhythmias — fast, slow or otherwise irregular beats. Without your pacemaker, when arrhythmias occurred, the heart may have been unable to pump sufficient blood throughout the body, causing symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue and fainting.
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