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Life with a Pace Maker?

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DavidApp

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Hello All

Having just been fitted with a pace maker I am interested to hear how it will effect my life.

I do not suffer with very low heart rate so I saw no big change and it is not a defibrillator.

After a 30 day halter monitor study to check on my occasional rapid heart beat they detected an occurrence of NO heart beat for 7 seconds. So they advised me to have the pace maker to jump start me just in case.

Had it done 2 weeks ago and so far no problems.

David
 
No pacemaker here (though had an aortic valve replacement). Sounds like the study with Holter monitor was really thorough (as 30 days is quite the stretch)! Irregular heart rates are really not uncommon at all in older folks. The question boils down to how often are these episodes and for how long. It would appear that this was more of a precautionary installation. I presume it's not a dual pacemaker and a fairly conventional one. Are you having to take any anticoagulant medication?
 
No pacemaker here either but, many parishioners over the years - without exception it is life changing - more energy and confidence is the general consensus.
 
Hello Mark
Random, sometimes I go a month without an episode then two in one day. I am going back for a checkup and will have to ask a lot of questions about it. I believe it is only a precaution in case of a failure to beat.
Have been having them for some years but had several a few weeks before my annual checkup so I decided to make a fuss about it. Had an episode just before a 5K race and it messed up my time. Can get it back to a normal beat by holding my breath and bearing down. No medication so far but he mentioned a Beta blocker to tackle the rapid beat.

JP
No change in energy for me.
I think that people with a very slow heart rate not because they are really healthy benefit because they were being starved of blood.
My resting heart rate is low but I walk or run about 4 miles a day.
Trying to stay fit and look where it got me.

David
 
I got a Pacemaker in December. I was getting both low heartbeats - got down to 28 bpm, 2 off the world record one afternoon - and a-fib. Coming out of a-fib, your heart actually stops to reset for a few seconds. One time in November, it stopped as I was getting out of bed and I woke up on the floor thinking how did I get here. That clinched it for me. Imagine what would happen if I got an attack while driving.The PM doesn't stop the a-fib, which I still get occasionally, but when it stops, the PM keeps going and I don't feel a thing. My heart rate is set to 60 and never goes below that but it does immediately go up to 88 when I exercise. I played a couple of hours of tennis yesterday and today without any problems and you can hardly see the scar where she inserted the PM. I still take beta blockers & Ace inhibitors for blood pressure, flecainide for rhythm control, Lipitor, coumadin, potassium, and some prostate crap. They tell me my heart is fine except for the electrical problem. A-fib is a short-circuit in the atria. What causes it? If you can figure that out, you'll be rich by next week. All I can say is I should have done it sooner.
 
David:
I'm sure a cardiologist will tell you that if you are a runner (and it sounds like you sure are) bradycardia is very common... and this can result in some pesky skipped beats (though 7 seconds is LONG). They might use something like Metoprolol to assist in establishing a steady heart-rate; no biggie really. Some will often start with that, but the Holter must have suggested a more aggressive pathway. As for the rapid heart rate, that depends on how long and what it looks like. Sometimes a person will have a paroxysmal tachycardia and there are ablation procedures that are done to take out the pesky cardiac tissue that's causing it.
At any rate A-fib, though not uncommon, should be treated... and I suspect that's the main concern from the Holter. I've had A-fib myself (though it was post aortic valve replacement and was nicely resolved).
Your very low heart rate is likely driving a lot of this, but every situation is unique.
 
Mt cardiologist started by saying it is usually nothing to worry about but wanted to do some tests. He did mention the ablation procedure or the beta blockers or do nothing. When he saw the long pause he was more concerned saying it could possible cause loss of conciseness. The echo cardiogram results were good with a %60+ ejection fraction.
My resting heart rate first thing is usually in the low 50s but when I came back from a run it can be as high as 145 to 150 but drops 35 to 40 beats a minute after 2 minutes rest.
I do run but am handed my rear in some of the larger 5Ks. Local events I do place in my age group. Labor day last year I was beaten by 5 minutes and came 7 in the age group. Age group winner came in just over 22 minutes and it was still almost my personnel best. I get a kick out of it running and the 5Ks are a good charity and you get a neat t shirt.

David
 
Most of this sounds good. The 60% ejection fraction is excellent. Very athletic people (regardless of how you do in races) do have some chamber remodeling (due to left ventricular hypertrophy), and THAT can cause some electrical issues on occasion. Might be your situation.
All this would suggest a generally healthy heart (chambers and valves). As for the reaction to exercise, that is extremely common in athletes as well.
 
Basil said:
Whatever you do, make sure it doesn't say "Lucas" on it!
Click to expand...
:wink-new:

A good friend wore a monitor which determined his heart was stopping. After a 2 years with his pace maker no issues, no problems or change in the way he feels.

What prompted the Dr visit was a ride in his pickup when his heart stopped and he drifted across 3 lanes into oncoming traffic. I reached over and yanked the steering wheel back across traffic and into a parking lot where he came to enough to hit the brakes. Yikes! Cop sitting right there never saw a thing.

Best of luck with your adjustment.
 
Hello Richard

I think that was his main concern. Mentioned the possibility of me passing out while at the wheel. Hitting the bathroom floor or kitchen floor and not knowing how you got there is inconvenient but at 65 mph it is an emergency. That is why I had it done.

David
 
David - what did you doctor say about how the pacemaker would affect you?
 
David - you did the right thing and for the right reasons. I think a lot of those unexplained car accidents are due to drivers passing out. And Richard - you were lucky. I played golf with a player today who also got a PM in January. He feels better but the PM hasn't helped his golf.
 
Did not say I would see any major changes. It is set with a minimum heart rate of 50 so it will pace if I drop below that rate. I was not suffering with a chronic low rate so no change there. They can set an upper rate but he wants to see how I do.
This thing is recording 24/7/365 and they download me like a fancy car.
I am going to have to keep notes on what I am doing so when they say what happened on July 27 at 4.00pm. I have some idea why my rate went out of range.It probable has a built in GPS so they can find me when I get lost in Walmart.

David
 
These devices also have a memory of everything that happens and they come with a telephone pickup that sends data to the doctor. You hold it up to the PM and it connects automatically. I had a couple of minor incidents and they showed up almost two months later on the transmission. Mine - a Medtronics - is also immune to MRIs, unlike earlier units. Quite amazing.
 
pdplot said:
These devices also have a memory of everything that happens and they come with a telephone pickup that sends data to the doctor. You hold it up to the PM and it connects automatically. I had a couple of minor incidents and they showed up almost two months later on the transmission. Mine - a Medtronics - is also immune to MRIs, unlike earlier units. Quite amazing.
Click to expand...

Medical technology has come a long long way! Truly amazing.
 
Thinking back some years I had an Uncle who had heart problems. Several heart attacks and he was ordered to stay in bed for several weeks. This was before any bypass surgery etc.

I gather there two main types of heart issue. Blocked Plumbing or electrical problems.

There is a new unit that goes inside the heart. Said to be much better as it has no leads but if there a problem I suspect getting it out for service may be a bigger issue.
Mine is a St Jude device and as I was going into the EP lab to have the implant I asked the Dr if it was MRI compliant. He said they could use that type.

David
 
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