Question 19M.3.HL.TZ1.21a.ii
| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | [Maximum mark: 2] | Reference code | 19M.3.HL.TZ1.21a.ii |
| Level | HL | Paper | 3 | Time zone | TZ1 |
| Command term | Describe | Question number | a.ii | Adapted from | N/A |
The X-ray shows the thorax of a patient who has had an artificial pacemaker fitted.
[Source: M S Silvetti and F Drago, Twenty years of paediatric cardiac pacing: 515 pacemakers and 480 leads implanted in 292
patients, Europace, 2006, 8, 7, 530–536, by permission of Oxford University Press]
Describe briefly how an artificial pacemaker works.
[2]
a. a pacemaker contains a battery and pulse generator
OR
it is connected to the heart by wires/cables ✔
b. it detects that the heart’s natural rhythm is incorrect ✔
c. it sends electrical impulses to correct the heartbeat/it replaces sinoatrial node ✔
d. provide a regular impulse/constant rhythm ✔
A majority of the candidates stated that the pacemaker sends electrical impulses or replaces the SA node, and they achieved 1 mark. Few were able to state that the pacemaker is connected to the heart by wires or that it monitors the heart rate itself.
