Z95: Presence of cardiac and vascular implants and grafts

Z95.0: Presence of electronic cardiac devices

The heart pumps blood through the body. Inside the heart are 4 chambers. There are 2 heart atria and 2 ventricles. Both heart atria and both ventricles are separated from each other by a partition. The heart's electrical activity causes the heart muscle to contract. It begins at a site in your right atrium. Initially the electrical activity spreads to both atria. The electrical activity then flows on via a sort of cable to the ventricles.

A pacemaker or defibrillator is made up of a housing and usually several cables. The housing is placed under the skin on the chest. The cables then usually run into the blood vessels to the heart.

In an emergency, a defibrillator can release very strong electric currents, for instance if the heart is beating very fast. Thanks to the current surge, the heart should beat again at a normal rate. A pacemaker on the other hand can regularly release currents for the heart so that it beats regularly at a normal rate. But a pacemaker can also ensure that both heart chambers beat equally strongly in certain cases. There are also devices that both work regularly and can also release a strong current surge in an emergency.