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Question:
Does a person with a slow heart rate need a pacemaker?
Does a person with slow heart rate (lower than 60), but no blockage of arteries need a pacemaker?
submitted by Ivy from Beaumont, Texas on 11/11/2012
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Mohammad Saeed, MD
Slow heart rate [bradycardia] can develop because of many reasons, including blockage of arteries. But there are many other conditions which can result in slow heart rate. Decision to implant a pacemaker is usually made on the presence or absence of symptoms related to slow heart rate, with less emphasis placed on the underlying cause in most cases.
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Updated November 2012