Cardiac resynchronization therapy
Find a heart specialistIf you have heart failure or cardiomyopathy – damage to your heart muscle – your lower heart chambers might not coordinate correctly with your upper heart chambers. This can lead to an irregular heart rhythm, which reduces blood flow from your heart through your body. As a result, you may experience shortness of breath, abnormal fatigue or fainting (syncope).
Our heart specialists are here to help care for your heart and provide guidance to help get your heart back on a steady beat. Your treatment plan could include cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
What is cardiac resynchronization therapy?
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a specialized treatment for people with heart failure and involves implanting a special type of pacemaker.
With CRT, your doctor implants a small device called a biventricular pacemaker to help regulate your heart rhythm in both chambers of the heart.
CRT treatment
A biventricular pacemaker uses electrical impulses to help your ventricles contract together to pump blood more efficiently. This specialized pacemaker can significantly improve quality of life for people with heart failure who don’t respond to medication.
If needed, your doctor may combine your biventricular pacemaker with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. This device sends small pulses of electrical energy to your heart to restore a normal rhythm after certain types of arrhythmias. Your doctor will determine which device(s) you may need after completing an electrophysiology study – a test that helps your doctor better understand what’s happening with your heart’s electrical system.
You'll see your primary care doctor or cardiologist for personalized guidelines to prepare for CRT including:
- Refraining from eating or drinking anything after midnight the night before your procedure
- Giving instructions on how to get ready for your procedure including any medications you may need to stop taking
- Answering your questions and concerns
Your implantation procedure will take place in a lab or a special surgical suite. The procedure usually takes two to five hours.
During the procedure you’ll receive a local anesthetic, so you’ll be awake while your doctor implants your pacemaker, but you won’t feel any pain.
We’ll monitor your heart’s electrical activity using an electrocardiogram (EKG) machine. We also follow your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing during and after the procedure.
We’ll disinfect and may shave a small area on your upper chest where we make the incision to insert the pacemaker.
Your doctor will take chest X-rays to help determine exactly where to place the pacemaker leads to the appropriate chamber(s) in your heart. We connect the other ends of the leads to a small pulse generator, which we usually insert in the skin just under your collarbone.
You may feel us pushing on your shoulder during the procedure, but you shouldn’t feel any pain. We’ll make sure you’re comfortable throughout the process.
You may need to stay overnight in the hospital while you recover we can monitor your condition.we can monitor your condition. Be sure to arrange for someone to give you a ride home once you’re discharged.
Before going home, we’ll go over detailed instructions about your recovery including:
- Exercise: Your doctor will give you detailed instructions and guidelines on what kind of physical activity is safe in the first few months after your implant.
- Follow-up appointments: Be sure to keep these appointments so your doctor can test and reprogram the pacemaker to best fit your needs.
- Remote monitoring: Your pacemaker will regularly transmit messages to our monitoring team so we can see how well the device is working. However, you’ll occasionally need to come in for appointments.
- Living with your new device: Most people with pacemakers find they can quickly resume their everyday activities. Be sure to let your medical and dental professionals know that you have a pacemaker. You’ll also need to alert screeners at the airport as your device may set off metal detectors.
Placing your trust in our team
People from around eastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois choose our hospitals and clinics for our track record of safety and excellence. You can feel confident with our:
- National ranking: U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks our heart program among the best in the country. We’re dedicated to improving and transforming heart care.
- Top team: Our cardiac electrophysiology department – the team that implants pacemakers – is one of the most active programs in the country. All our doctors are board certified, passing rigorous, voluntary tests of skills and knowledge.
- Pacemaker expertise: We implant or replace more than 900 devices every year. This procedure is one of our specialties.
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