Artificial pacemaker of the heart
Common Questions and Answers about Artificial pacemaker of the heart
pacemaker
thank you
from the EKG online it seems that whenever the pacemaker starts his artificial pulses, the heart simply follow this pulses.
I'm sorry you're facing such a difficult decision. My Dad had a similar decision when his ICD was going out. It was either let it go and risk having a deadly arryhthmia or they could just put a pacemaker in to keep him as comfortable as possible. He had been in end stage heart failure for over a year by that time. He was still coherent enough to ask for the pacer. Strangely enough the heart meds kept his arrhythmia fairly well controlled and he eventually passed away from cancer.
when they went in to replace that lead they found the other lead off, they also found a black oily substance on my pacemaker. the pacemaker company was called, they told the dr to replace it free of charge. we have no idea what the substance was. the dr said he had never seen anything like it. we are waiting to hear from the company. since then i have been hospitalized twice, because my heart feels like it is skipping beats. now i have facial and neck swelling.
The Constrictive Pericarditus is from Infection of the Pericardium I got after my first heart surgery. My Cardiologist has had my pacemaker reset in hopes it will help me get around and breath properly. So far I have been told 3 times they will operate on the CP. But after testing they have said it is too dangerous.
So far I am just thankful for each day and keep ticking.
And two, in the setting of this A fib and a slow heart rhythm, putting in a pacemaker may reduce the amount of atrial fibrillation you're having. But more importantly, the presence of a pacemaker will allow your doctor to put you on anti-arrhythmic medications safely.
If you have a tendency for a very slow heart rhythm, if you were placed on and anti-arrhythmic medication, your heart rate may get so slow you could get dizzy or pass out.
If the problem is your walls are too thick, Calcium Channel Blockers are the drugs they generally use because they help to relax the heart muscle and therefore the filling action of the heart is better. If the walls are too thin, then I would think the Beta Blockers would be the drugs of choice. What are you calling a "small" fainting spell? You either faint or you don't.
24 hrs Holter monitoring revealed basic rhythm to be sinus with maximum heart rate of 143 bpm, minimum heart rate of 49 bpm,average being 67 bpm.1 episode of short Atrial Fibrillation noted. No sinus pause or higher grades of AV-block noted. Occasional supraventrilcular ectopic beats and couplets,1 ventricular ectopic beat were also noted during the period of monitoring. Bundle branch block pattern noted.
Is the condition serious? Will she need Pacemaker? I am very worried.
Thank you.
The article states that this is usually caused by something that is going on below the AV node (i.e. in the bundle of HIS). The article at Medscape elaborates a bit more on some of the differentials.
I do not see anything that says that second degree heart block can be of a transitory nature, but in principle, I do not see why it could not. If someone were to take the wrong drugs for instance, it seems like it would be possible to create "artificial" second degree block.
I seriously doubt that you are "imagining" the palpitations. Since the artificial pace maker has stopped functioning in a certain part of your heart, some of your "normal" heart cells are probably trying to take up for the loss. However, not being the natural pacemaker center, these cells fire at inappropriate times causing what you are feeling as palps.
As for what to do, I can only tell you what I would do. I would get the thing fixed or replaced ASAP.
When I was at the doctors office they explained that it is working everytime her heart beats. They told us that the lower right side of her heart is bad. They said the pacemaker is set at 60bpm to keep her heart at a steady beat but when her blood pressure is taken the lower number is always in the 80's. I tryed to ask could the pacemaker be set to high for her body.
In other cases, people may have no symptoms but are at high risk for dangerously slow heart rates because of disturbances of the electrical system of the heart. A pacemaker may be recommended for these people before symptoms occur. There are no electrical disturbance shown with your post?!
Because a wrong decision can be very serious I would hesitate to second quess a doctor's assessment.
2) Considering her need for a higher dosage and her occasional heart block, the combo of verapimil and a pacemaker is an appropriate next step. As I recall, a member of this board, scouser costa rica, has a pacemaker like your wife's doctor is recommending and it's working out well for him (he also takes amiodarone to decrease the frequency of afib episodes and to lower his heart rate when it does occur)..
3) There are two types of ablation to consider.
And if the origin of the problem is close to the AV node in the heart then the risk of your son needing a pacemaker after the ablation would be too great so the surgeons would not do the ablation. (The AV node is the natural pacemaker, so if it is ablated then an artificial pacemaker must be inserted)
On the other hand, it could be a case of Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia, which cannot be treated other than with beta blockers to slow the heart.
The sinus node will still be in charge of the heart activity, but the pacemaker creates a floor in the heart rate, usually 50, so when your heart rate goes below that, the pacemaker takes over. If you have events of rapid heart rate too, that's usually treated with beta blockers when you have the pacemaker installed.
When I do any exercise that really contracts the muscle that my pacemaker lies under, I pay attention to how it feels and stop or switch positions if it feels like it is putting too much pressure on the pacemaker. If your pacemaker has been implanted recently, be especially careful for the first few months while the scar tissue grows to hold the pacer and leads in place.
My problem is that I was passing out with the low heart rate. I felt great for the first two weeks after getting the pacemaker. Then, I started passing out again. After some testing, they found that my pacemaker runs me up to 120 BPM and drops to 55 BPM but does not raise to the acceptable heart rate. The techs from St. Jude reprogrammed but again it only lasted for two weeks.
They have run EEG's, Sleep studies etc.
Unless your mother is in superior condition and will live many years I would not subject to the pacemaker. The pacemaker part is fine but not the defrib part of it. If she slips away that defrib unit will bring her back. As some one who is up in years I would not want that. A nice peace passing is what I would want. Warm regards.
I had a pacemaker revision 6 months ago when the unit moved out of the pocket and was actually eroding the tissue and skin. The pacemaker unit both times is at skin level and ready to puncture thru the skin.
I saw my cardiologist yesterday and he says he absolutely has to be redone. However he wasnt sure whether to try again with the existing site or move the unit to my right side. Both has its pros and cons.
This is a relatively simple procedure which does not require anything but local anesthetic and is usually very well tolerated in the vast majority of patients. What is her objection to the procedure? Is she mis informed regarding how invasive this can be? Is she depressed following the loss of a loved one? This needs to be fully explored before a final decision can be made.
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