Skip to Main Content
Care calculator »  pacemaker placement - incl device and leads »

How is a pacemaker installed?

A pacemaker is made up of two parts - the pulse generator and the electrodes. 

The pulse generator is a small rounded box that is often placed beneath the skin of the left chest. This small box contains the electronics and the battery that generates electrical signals that the electrodes then transmit to the heart. 

The electrodes are wires that transmit the electrical signal from the pulse generator to the heart. These are most commonly placed within the large veins that lead back to the heart. This is known as a “transvenous” pacemaker, which is the most common type of pacemaker. There are some pacemakers that have no electrodes; these are more rare and placed only in specific situations.

Both of these elements are implanted in the same surgery. The surgeon will make a small pocket in the skin/fat of the left chest that the pulse generator sits in. This also allows them access to the large veins in the left chest to place the transvenous leads. That incision is then sewed up and the only evidence of the surgery will be a small cut 2-3 inches long and an outline of the pulse generator in smaller patients.

What is a pacemaker?

Where is the pacemaker placed?

Is pacemaker placement painful?

Is getting a pacemaker major surgery?

What is the most common complication after permanent pacemaker placement?

What is the life expectancy of a person with a pacemaker?

* Savings estimate based on a study of more than 1 billion claims comparing self-pay (or cash pay) prices of a frequency-weighted market basket of procedures to insurer-negotiated rates for the same. Claims were collected between July 2017 and July 2019. R.Lawrence Van Horn, Arthur Laffer, Robert L.Metcalf. 2019. The Transformative Potential for Price Transparency in Healthcare: Benefits for Consumers and Providers. Health Management Policy and Innovation, Volume 4, Issue 3.

Sidecar Health offers and administers a variety of plans including ACA compliant and excepted benefit plans. Coverage and plan options may vary or may not be available in all states.

Your actual costs may be higher or lower than these cost estimates. Check with your provider and health plan details to confirm the costs that you may be charged for a service or procedure.You are responsible for costs that are not covered and for getting any pre-authorizations or referrals required by your health plan. Neither payments nor benefits are guaranteed. Provider data, including price data, provided in part by Turquoise Health.

The site is not a substitute for medical or healthcare advice and does not serve as a recommendation for a particular provider or type of medical or healthcare.