Checking your pacemaker

The process of checking your pacemaker settings is called interrogation.

Pacemakers have very advanced features. For example, your doctor can program a pacemaker to work in different ways depending on your needs.

No surgery is needed to check your pacemaker settings. The doctor places a special programming device directly on your chest, over the pacemaker (on top of your skin and clothes), and “interrogates” the pacemaker. The pacemaker automatically sends back information about how it is currently programmed. Based on what you need, your doctor can use similar techniques to reprogram the pacemaker to work differently.

The strength and length of the impulse sent to the heart muscle and how fast the pacemaker will go can be programmed into the pacemaker.