Author Question: G.P.'s wife approaches you and anxiously inquires, My neighbor saw this science fiction movie about ... (Read 57 times)

erika · **on:** Jun 25, 2018

G.P.'s wife approaches you and anxiously inquires, My neighbor saw this science fiction movie about this guy who got a pacemaker and then he couldn't die. Is that for real?

Howvare you going to respond to her?

Question 2

G.P. will need some education regarding his new pacemaker.

What information will you give him before he leaves the hospital?

Dominic · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 25, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Do not laugh Patients and their families sometimes hear bizarre stories about high-tech health
care issues. It is fortunate she felt she could ask you this question. Keep in mind that if she asked
you about it, she probably worried about it a great deal.
Reassure her that it might have made a great plot for a movie, but it's not a real situation.
Explain to her the pacemaker gives off only mini electrical signals to make the heart beat
regularly.
This might be a good time to ask whether she and G.P. have discussed and done anything about
health care power-of-attorney and advance directives for each other.

Answer to Question 2

Call the physician if you have signs or symptoms (S/S) of infection, such as fever or excessive
redness, swelling, unusual pain, or drainage at the incision site.
Restrict arm lifting movements or exercises for 2 to 3 weeks after surgery. This applies only to the
arm on the same side of the body as the surgical site. Frequently, patients are asked to wear a sling
and swath to prevent arm movement.
Call the physician if you have any of the following S/S of pacemaker malfunction: dizziness, passing
out, palpitations, chest pain, and unusual weight gain.
Observe safety precautions by avoiding contact sports, avoiding pressure on the incision, wearing
a medical alert bracelet or necklace, carrying a pacemaker ID card, and avoiding high-voltage
electrical and magnetic equipment.