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Pacemaker Clinic
All patients with pacemakers are eligible, with written approval from
their physician, to enroll in the Pacemaker Clinic at Heart Consultants,
P.C. Through a Pacemaker Clinic telephone hook-up, your pacemaker can
be checked to assure it is operating correctly. Our goal at the clinic
is to provide you with specific, easy-to-understand instructions regarding
your pacemaker and how to make telephone transmissions with the transmitter.
Follow-up Schedule
The clinic monitors new implant patients by the following schedule:
- First call six weeks after implant.
- Thereafter, every two months for the first year.
- Then, every three to four months until last year of expected pacemaker life or until any problem develops.
In addition to telephone checks, we request periodic visits in person
to the clinic. The first visit will be one week after the implant to check
your incision site, along with pacemaker teaching and again three to four
months after implant to check your pacemaker. Then every 12 - 18 months,
following your first device check, unless a problem develops. At each
routine telephone transmission and clinic visit, a report will be generated.
A copy of every report will be sent to your physician’s office,
and any abnormal reports will be immediately communicated to your physician.
ICD Clinic
Heart Consultants, PC also follows patients who have an Implantable Cardioverter
Defibrillator (ICD). We have recently added a new service for patients
with Medtronic ICD’s that allows patients to have their device checked
from the comfort of their homes called CareLinkTM . If you have a Medtronic
ICD and would like more information about this service, please call (402)
572-2018 or (800) 535-0397.
For Patients with new and existing ICD’s you will
be seen in the office every three months for a device check.
If you are a patient with a newly implanted Medtronic ICD, you will be
on the following schedule:
1 month post implant (CareLinkTM)
3 month post implant (clinic visit)
6 month post implant (CareLinkTM)
9 month post implant (clinic visit)
12 month post implant (CareLinkTM)
Patient's are also instructed by the clinic to use CareLinkTM if they become symptomatic or think their device shocked them.
For patients with existing Medtronic ICD you will
be followed by alternating between using CareLinkTM and clinic visits
every three months with four device checks every year. Patient's
are also instructed by the clinic to use CareLinkTM if they become symptomatic
or think their device shocked them.