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Pacemaker & ICDs: Introduce Yourself & Meet Others
Pacemaker & ICDs | Last Active: Sep 12 6:38am | Replies (116)Comment receiving replies
I am a male 66 y o (today), who had mitral and tricuspid valve repairs in Dec 2023. In in early August, of 2025, I had an horrendous motor vehicle accident. A few days later, I guess as a result of extreme stress hormone release from the accident. I had 10 ICD shocks within, I think, a few minutes of each other. I believe this to be a very typical case of VT/VF storm. Interrogation of my device showed that the shocks were for real VT/VF. In retrospect, I realized that I was having the same "aura" on several other occasions (consisting of whole body tingling and lightheadedness), in previous months. At those times, the episodes were either non sustained or controlled by ATP (anti tachycardia pacing). The shape (morphology) of the VT/VF indicates that the foci for the arrhythmias is scar tissues around the mitral valve annulus (opening). I pray that an ablation can eliminate most of my arrhythmia burden. Right now, I am afraid to live, from moment to moment, for fear that something amy initiate another another shock, or run of shocks.
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So sorry to hear about your experience!!! I can relate as (I posted above) just 3 days after I got my ICD implanted (twice, it turned out, as one of the leads was dislodged before I even got back to recovery room from surgery and I had to go back for a second surgery.)
That trama, much like your car accident, caused me to have a bout of AFIB (at about 1am in the morning!) and heart rate of over 200 - causing my ICD to shock me - 4 times. (That was horrible! I cannot imagine 10 shocks!) I went to ER and stayed in hospital 2 more days.
Key thing I wanted to mention to you is two things: (1) Before I was discharged from the hospital - my ICD was re-programmed to have much higher protocols (my discharge papers indicated my ICD shocks were “inappropriate.” I agree!) Specifically, mine was re-set to shock at a much higher heart rate and related).
You may want to talk to your doctor about having yours re-programmed. But maybe more important to consider, because I really appreciate your anxiety, is that the event causing your ICD to activate (the car accident) was an extremely traumatic and rare occurrence - hopefully not to recur again!
Do tell your doctor about your (very reasonable) anxiety. One nurse at the hospital compared such events to those causing PTSD.