Pacemaker recipients: Looking for support from others

Posted by balubeje @balubeje, May 25, 2016

I am coming on a year post op having a pacemaker placement for bradycardia. I would be interested in a support group with the same concerns. I think a support network would be so beneficial.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart Rhythm Conditions Support Group.

@danab

Hi Betty, yes I can answer that question, I thought i gave a response a few days ago,Got to love technology. Anyway I apologize for that. First off I don't have afib mine was called Vintricular Tachycardia or VT for short. It affects the lower part of the heart which is the main pump. From when I would go into an arrhythmia or basically a rapid pulse usually so fast no blood is moving. If it stays in that state more than a couple of min you can be basically in full blown cardiac arrest. So that's why seconds count and if the pacemaker could not get the heart back into rhythm the defibrillator part would shock me from the inside just like they do from the outside. This is all setup ahead of time and certian settings would see the arrhythmia evaluate the best treatment and deliver it.

Now with the ablation yes they can be done with the pacemaker temporarily shut off by a technician while the ablation is going on. That part is similar to afib is that they are trying to find the bad paths that cause the heart to go out of rhythm, then ablate those by burning or freezing the nerve ends to eliminate then from causing the problem. Hope that explains your questions. Please feel free to ask anything you like. I look forward to hearing how they decided to help you

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But if heart is back I rhythm does that stop the pauses.seems like if in AFib pauses always can happen.One could pass out. So thinking pacemaker corrects pauses but not AFib.Is that right.Trying to understand this.

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@bettysamny

But if heart is back I rhythm does that stop the pauses.seems like if in AFib pauses always can happen.One could pass out. So thinking pacemaker corrects pauses but not AFib.Is that right.Trying to understand this.

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I am wondering if the pacemaker stops the afid from happening

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@atina

Tylenol is most likely the culprit…now that you have stopped taking tylenol you will see if your acid reflux goes away

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Thank you so much! Yes, I stopped and the reflux has stopped too.

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@bettysamny

But if heart is back I rhythm does that stop the pauses.seems like if in AFib pauses always can happen.One could pass out. So thinking pacemaker corrects pauses but not AFib.Is that right.Trying to understand this.

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Hi Betty, I'm not sure I understand pauses. Unfortunately I'm not super familiar with afib, I had a friend who had it and if he went into afib and either the pacemaker or by itself did not come back into rhythm he would go to an er and get converted. It sounds like these pauses are skipped beats? I used to have what doctors called Pvcs which do feel uncomfortable but are not usually bad enough to need treatment. Could these be what your calling pauses? Pvcs by the way stands for premature Vintricular contraction and are basically skipped beats.
Of they in your case are more often that occasional I understand there are treatments for them but I'm nit familiar with those treatments. I did have them myself but only for short periods and myndoctr sad they were not often enough to be of concern. Sorry I couldn't help more on that area.

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@ajnewyork

Thank you so much! Yes, I stopped and the reflux has stopped too.

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thank you for your informaton , rsteve

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@ajnewyork

Hello. I had a pacemaker implanted about 6 days ago and have had a few episodes of pain in the area of my diaphragm and some acid-reflux this morning. I have rarely had heartburn or acid-reflux and I'm wondering if anyone has had it with a pacemaker. It could also be caused by the fact that I have had to stop swimming (and most all exercise) following the pm placement or that I was essentially in bed for 3 days last week at the hospital or that I've been taking a lot of tylenol for pain recently (just stopped). If anyone has info to share, I'd be grateful to hear from you. Many thanks!

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Hi: I've had PM for 10 months. I still have minor pain from time to time. After surgery, it was quite painful and that lasted many months. It's a tricky area to operate on. My surgeon was gruff and not at all concerned about my pain level, during surgery and after! I still have pain during some activities. Hang in there- it does improve.

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@pngbee74

Hi: I've had PM for 10 months. I still have minor pain from time to time. After surgery, it was quite painful and that lasted many months. It's a tricky area to operate on. My surgeon was gruff and not at all concerned about my pain level, during surgery and after! I still have pain during some activities. Hang in there- it does improve.

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Thanks for getting back to me with your experience. I was starting to wonder about pain too because my doctor wrote to me that it should mostly clear up in 10 days, but I'm on day 12 and am still experiencing pain and sensitivity that is completely tolerable (I quite the tylenol a week ago), but I'm wondering when it will ease. Naturally, I re-injure the incision site a little bit on most days as my range of motion improves and my activity level increases. Using some ice tonight! I'm also tired but in a different way, thank goodness, than before when my bradycardia was so symptomatic and scary. This just feels like regular tiredness and I think it will get better.
Thanks again!

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@bettysamny

But if heart is back I rhythm does that stop the pauses.seems like if in AFib pauses always can happen.One could pass out. So thinking pacemaker corrects pauses but not AFib.Is that right.Trying to understand this.

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Hi, Betty. I am no expert on the subject, but I can share with you my history that might clarify things for you. After having been previously diagnosed with occasional afib, last April I had about 4 episodes of fainting. Went to ER and was put on a heart monitor and was asked to spend the night at the hospital for continued monitoring. The next morning, I met with a cardiologist who told me that during the night my pulse dropped to as low as 33 BPM, and worse yet, I had several “pauses” of at least 4 seconds when I had no pulse. While she did not say so, it appeRed to m3 that I was a candidate to be someone who mysteriously died in their sleep! She did tell me, though, that I was a candidate for a pacemaker. I underwent pacemaker surgery the next day. The device was then dialed in to hold my pace at no less than 60 BPM. The device seems to have no effect on a fib. I was also placed on flecainide and metoprolol to keep my heart rate from racing during any future afib episodes. Hope this is helpful. Best wishes to you.

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I neglected to mention that the cardiologist stated that the “pauses” that I experienced were the cause of the fainting episodes and that the pacemaker would fix this. I believe that she was correct, as I have had no further fainting episodes since implant of the pacemaker.

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I know if it goes below 40 it is bad. I so far never fainted.but got light headed and dizzy ..felt faubt after the moderna vaccine. .3 hours later. I had a pause incident of about 6 seconds three months later but ddin't feel or know it. Showed up on implanted ekg link. I know a pacemaker does not affect afib. How much metoprolol do you take? Do you have any side effects from the meds. .either..I never took flecainide. Are you tolerating it? Have you ever had an ablation? What were you taking before the incident for afib?

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