SECTION 3
What happens on procedure day?
Checking in
Your team reviews your health history, medicines, and allergies. A nurse places an IV, and monitors track your heart rhythm, blood pressure, and oxygen level.
Your doctor confirms the device you are receiving and explains the implant plan.
Keeping you comfortable
The implant area is numbed with local anesthetic. Your doctor will tell you whether you will also receive moderate sedation or general anesthesia. Your team monitors you throughout the procedure.
For a traditional pacemaker, ICD, or CRT device
Your doctor makes a small incision in the upper chest, usually below the left collarbone.
The leads are guided through a vein to the appropriate locations in or around the heart. X-ray imaging helps guide placement. Your doctor tests the leads, connects them to the generator, and places the generator in a pocket beneath the skin.
The incision is closed and covered with surgical glue. The number and placement of leads depend on your device and pacing needs.
For a leadless pacemaker
Your doctor guides a delivery catheter through a vein in the groin into the heart. The pacemaker is positioned and secured inside the heart, then tested before the catheter is removed.
There is no chest incision or generator pocket. The groin access site is closed afterward.
Testing your device
Your team checks that the device senses your heartbeat and delivers the intended treatment. Its settings are programmed for your needs.
Recovery before going home
Nurses monitor your heart rhythm, vital signs, and incision or groin site. You may have an EKG and, after a traditional implant, a chest X-ray.
Some patients go home the same day; others stay overnight. Before discharge, your team reviews medicines, wound care, activity restrictions, and follow-up appointments.
Updated October 2026. Educational information; your own care plan may differ. Medical illustrations are simplified examples for teaching.