Pacemaker Checks & Monitoring

Most children's hospitals offer a monitoring service for children who have pacemakers. This service allows you to send an electrocardiogram (EKG), over the phone. An EKG is a written tracing of the heart's rhythm. This tracing is reviewed by a doctor who specializes in the care of children who have pacemakers. Much information can be obtained from the tracing. The tracing can determine if the pacemaker is pacing properly, if it is sensing the heart's natural beats properly, if the pacemaker is set to deliver enough energy, and if the battery is getting low. All this is done by using a special device called a transtelephonic transmitter that is given to parents when a child has a pacemaker implanted. Instructions about how to use the transmitter and when to send an EKG to the clinic is reviewed. Usually, an EKG is sent every one to two months or whenever there is concern that the pacemaker is not working properly. Signs of possible pacemaker failure include low energy levels, poor appetite, dizziness, palpitations or skipped beats, fainting and/or a pulse rate lower than the pacemaker's lower rate limit.

Routine EKGs can be sent to the clinic at anytime. Until you have sent several tracings and feel comfortable with the procedure it may be helpful to call during office hours. If you call to send a routine tracing after the clinic closes, you will be directed by a recorded message on how to proceed. The tracing will be recorded on the answering machine and reviewed by a doctor the next working day. If you feel that the tracing should be reviewed sooner than that, please call the hospital operator at (718) 470-770 and ask for the Pediatric Cardiology Fellow on call. He or she will go to the EKG room to look at the tracing as you send it.

All transtelephonic tracings are reviewed by a pediatric cardiologist the day they are sent, or if the clinic is closed, they are reviewed the next working day. If there is a problem, you will be called right away. If no problems are found, your family doctor will receive a written report about the tracing. You will be called back only if a problem with the pacemaker is found.