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@jenniferhunter ,
Here's my list! I hope it is a good one!
Does bradycardia keep getting worse if I just keep waiting? Might it go away?
Is it damaging organs while I let the bradycardia continue?
Is the main problem now limited to the unpleasant way I sometimes feel and the danger of falling?
(I have cracked the radius in one arm.)
What about other, if any (Afib and any others?) arrhythmias if there are any?
What is/are the names/names of the ones I have?
Should there be an EP evaluation before deciding on a pacemaker? (said that in a book)
Will it be MRI – safe?
How many leads would the pacemaker have?
Would it address Afib, or would more medications alone be used for that? Just Metoprolol?
Would it be safe for me to plug in and disconnect my semi-electric car?
How far away from our portable generator would I have to stay, if it is running?
Any other electrical complications?
I read about cell phones 6” away, airport security scans and store security scanning devices. What sort of “misbehaviors” by the pacemaker would they possibly cause?
Who would install it?
I have read that up to 10% of people who get pacemakers feel worse from having an inappropriate kind or from incorrect programming. How likely is this?
Can I drink some alcohol?
What exactly did you mean by, “A pacemaker is a big commitment”?
I await a reply from the APRN. I am confident that she will answer.
Replies to "@jenniferhunter , Here's my list! I hope it is a good one! Does bradycardia keep getting..."
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@yellowdoggirl Those are excellent questions!
In your question about what is the "main problem" being limited.... I actually see problems as being interconnected, not limited to a single answer. For example, if you felt dizzy because of a heart malfunction and you fall and break your arm, those 2 problems are related because one significantly contributed to the other. There could have been other factors causing dizziness like a hearing or vision problem or a reaction to a medication or an abnormality in the vascular system. Your doctor should be thinking like this to find all the causes of a symptom, and not just assume there is only one.
You can always ask what else could cause the problem? Sometimes it is more difficult in making a diagnosis, and it can be made by excluding other issues in what they call a differential diagnosis. I am a spine surgery patient, and they had to exclude other problems that can also cause nerve pain elsewhere in the body in order to conclude that the pain was being caused by a problem in the spine itself. This is important because you don't want to do spine surgery that doesn't fix the pain because you didn't find the correct cause of the pain. That is just an example for discussion, and my spine surgery was very successful.
Questions I might add about a pacemaker would be:
How often does a pacemaker need to be replaced due to battery life?
Can it be adjusted and reprogrammed remotely or at an office call?
Will there be a monitoring station that sends data to the doctor daily through wireless communication while I sleep?
How large is the pacemaker and will it be visible to everyone like a lump?