Dr. Ayesha Cheema is a primary care doctor with Mercy Personal Physicians at Columbia. She offers experienced and thoughtful primary care for adults of Howard County.
Mercy’s team of breast surgeons and breast cancer specialists in Baltimore help women determine the best breast cancer treatment options available to them.
Pulmonologists at The Lung Center at Mercy treat patients with lung conditions including COPD, lung cancer and interstitial lung disease.
Mercy offers emergency care on the Downtown Baltimore campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (410-332-9477) with access to a trained emergency medicine team, diagnostic services and consultations with specialists.
In case of an Emergency, Dial 911 and follow the instructions of the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) team.
Mercy Medical Center's downtown campus includes our Main Hospital - The Mary Catherine Bunting Center, McAuley Plaza and The Weinberg Center.
General visiting hours at Mercy are 11:00 am to 8:30 pm. Hours vary by floor, please check with the nursing staff or call 410-332-9555.
This video shows how doctors implant a pacemaker, a device that fixes certain types of arrhythmias, or abnormal heartbeats. A pacemaker restores a normal heartbeat by delivering low-energy electrical shocks through a wire in the heart.
The cardiologists of The Heart Center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, have advanced training to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease. Our doctors use pacemakers to help regulate the heart beat.
When the heart has irregular rhythms, a pacemaker is a device that is inserted into the body to help regulate the heart beat. There are two basic types of pacemakers – ones that trigger the chambers of the heart, and ones that are a combination defibrillator and pacemaker. The standard pacemaker sends an electrical impulse that replaces the heart’s own rhythm and the defibrillator/pacemaker device also delivers electrical impulses but also can send out a shock to stop a potentially dangerous heart rhythm.
Surgery is required to implant the pacemaker, but it is a less invasive surgery than other heart surgeries like open heart surgery which requires the chest to be completely opened.
In the surgical procedure, the patient is given a local anesthesia to numb the chest area and, if needed, a mild sedative to relax. Once the chest area is scrubbed, an incision is made and the wires that attached the device to the heart are inserted and attached to the heart. Then, the pacemaker is inserted under the skin. The wires are connected to the pacemaker and the pacemaker is tested to make sure it’s all in working order. The incision is closed and the patient is awakened.
Anyone experiencing irregular heart rhythm should consult with their primary care physician who may refer them to a heart specialist. That specialist will perform diagnostic screening tests to determine the underlying cause of the irregularity and recommend the best procedure to improve the heart’s performance.
Dr. Mark Applefeld, Chief of the Division of Cardiology, helps patients with heart problems, including heart attack, heart murmur and heart disease.
The story of a patient who forms a relationship with Mercy's doctors that spans over 20 years.