cardiac pacemaker battery life

When she recently had her pacemaker checked the physician told her that she now has only 2 1/2 years of battery life left. Unfortunately, the reason for a loss of battery life was not given even after the question was presented. Can you help us understand what has happend.

How do you know when your pacemaker is ready for a new battery? What are the signs?

While I wish your father was doing better, I can say that the defibrillator may have saved his life by preventing sudden cardiac arrest. I do not know what model your father has and even if I did would not know how it works, I just know how mine works and it seems to be working well so far.

Modern pacemakers don't just "die". When the battery voltage drops to a certain level. The pacemaker will go into an "end of life mode" (battery, not person). It's sort of a last ditch conservation mode until the battery can be replaced. What happens then is the pacemaker will fire to a preset pulse rate. It will no longer take into account what the user's heart is doing. The is reported by some to be a very uncomfortable, miserable feeling.

I realize that you have a lot of history with your mother and her pacemaker, but modern pacemakers don't just "die". When the battery voltage drops to a certain level. The pacemaker will go into an "end of life mode" (battery, not person). It's sort of a last ditch conservation mode until the battery can be replaced. What happens then is the pacemaker will fire to a preset pulse rate. It will no longer take into account what the user's heart is doing.

I have a pacemaker after having 4 cardiac arrests in one day 5 years ago. The ventricular part is 100% pacemaker, the Atrial was only 3% pacemaker. I found out 3 weeks ago the Atrial is now 49% pacemaker. The Atrial has been going down for 2 years. What effect will that have with my double chamber pacemaker. Apparently my Cardiologist foresaw this happening, I hope. Is it natural to lose all of the electricity in your heart and still do fine with your pacemaker?

If the pacemaker is the only concern, in other words he is not dealing with any other heart diseases such as a cardiomyopathy, he will have a normal life span. The pacemaker batteries last for years and before the batteries stop working, there are signs of that happening months before the pacemaker stops working. His doctor will have plenty of time to have the pacemaker battery replaced.

I have a Medtronic device currently. I am also requesting a longer-life battery pacemaker, is that a good choice? I was told the longer batteries can last up to 10 years. My last two pacemakers have lasted 6 and 7 years, respectively. Also, what is the chance of infection for third-time placements? Is it greatly increased? I am in great health other than my heart, am 5 feet 4 inches and weigh 112-115 lbs. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

My pacemaker battery had been dead for over a year and a half, and I just now was told that the pacemaker will have to be removed because it can damage the heart if it doesn't have a battery. Is this true? Incidentally, my pacemaker had not been activated for several years, as it was set for the minimum and didn't ever have to kick in.

Of course under normal circumstances your cardiologist would be monitoring your pacemaker, doing an interrogation of the unit and could track the battery life. My Dad had his changed before the beeping started. But they bagged it and gave it to him and eventually the beeper did start going off (just a tiny beep every now and then). He had to stash it some place until the battery actually quit.

I have a medtronic pacemaker,battery change next year,but can low blood pressure be due to low battery, also had stent put in august, 90% lad clogged. I have the pacer that's not defublator, pressure drops to low kicks in. I have been feeling dizzy tired no appetite, nauseated, but have to eat because of meds have to take. I am having pain in my chest and kind of short of breath.

I'm a 54 yo female who needed a pacemaker 10 years ago due to idiopathic 3rd degree heart block, I take no medications for my heart. My battery (now 10 years old) needs replacing. I've had 4 episodes of 5 second or less V-tach (according to the pacemakers computer) in the last 18 months and the doctors are wanting to do an Electrophysiology study to see if they can find out why I've had these episodes, since the echo and nuclear stress test preformed last week, were all normal.

3 weeks ago I had a Pacemaker replacement due to the fact my battery on my Pacemaker was running low. The new Pacemaker installed is a Medtronic Adapta. Since the new pacemaker my Heart beat has been all over the place. My 1st Enrhythym was paced at 80 bpm, and it pretty much stayed like that for 5.5 years until the battery started to go. The problem is is that the new Pacemaker is not like that at all! My heartbeat goes from 56 to 93, back to 71 then 86, and has gone a high as 100.

Mom is 90 yrs old and has severe dementia. She is need of a new pacemaker battery. Cardiologist said they don't change batteries - the whole pacemaker is changed. She is using her pacemaker 95% of the day. Is is a good idea to change this? Can you still die with a pacemaker? I know if she could make the decision herself she would tell me to not change it and leave well enough alone. I don't know what to do.

I am really surprised. My mom had a pacemaker and was told the battery needed to be changed once every five yrs. I remember that clearly. Maybe your friend has a different type of pacemaker. By the way, my mom had mitral valve prolapse and lived to age 92 and ONLY cauz she stopped eating at the nursing home. It runs in my moms family. All her sisters lived to be in their mid 90's and one was 103 ! My mom was born in 1913. I have inherited mvp too.

Pacemaker batteries will not run out unexpectedly. When a battery is running low, the elective replacement indicator (ERI) is activated. Physicians can detect this activation during a routine office visit. In addition, the battery status and the general functioning of the pacemaker can be tested over the telephone. This is generally done every one to two months.

A retired Electro cardio surgeon I met Has a resting rate of 50 ppm and has his pacemaker set at 45 ppm He points out this is a 12% duty cycle oh his pace maker and mine is over 75%. This save on the battery life and delays pacemaker replacement. He has installed over 2000 pacemakers in his career. Does having a high pulse rate on your pacemaker make you feel like you have more pep? This discussion is related to <a href='http://www.medhelp.

Dementia has increased over last 4 years, advance directive states no life support. Does one replace the difibrillator pacemaker in a atrial fib patient who no longer wants to be "hit" but die in peace. How long does the battery last when it is on replacemet mode?

This seems like a very difficult situation for you and your family. The best way to begin addressing this question is to ask your cardiologist whether your mother is "pacemaker dependent" or not. Pacemaker dependent means that the heart is reliant on the pacemaker, and without it, the heart cannot pump fast enough to meet the demands of the body. (There are others who need the pacemaker infrequently as a "back-up", for the rare times when the heart rate slows down).

How do you know the "batteries need replacing"? Modern pacemakers don't just "die". When the battery voltage drops to a certain level. The pacemaker will go into an "end of life mode" (battery, not person). It's sort of a last ditch conservation mode until the battery can be replaced. What happens then is the pacemaker will fire to a preset pulse rate. It will no longer take into account what the user's heart is doing.

If you have an ICD-CRT device (also with defibrillator), your doctor can leave the ICD turned on and change the pacemaker (ventricular pacing) as a backup if needed (e.g. when your own pacemaker runs too slowly or if appears a blockade between the upper and lower part of the heart). You can discuss about this option to your doctor and define with him the pros and cons. Good luck.

Okay, so I have years (like up to three or four) at a time when I am all but asymptomatic. Maybe some PVC's here and there, or a fainting spell due to absolute triggers (pain, low BP, injury, injured loved one etc) once or twice a year, sometimes none. Up until July of this year, I had been nearly "normal" for over three years!!!

Her checks suggested she was less than a year away from having her battery depleted. Her doctors did not want her to go too close to the predicted end of battery life because of safety issues. I would certainly suggest she be reevaluated as soon as possible and insist in the strongest terms that something be done. My wife was never in any danger and I believe that is good medical practice to replace the pacer with time to spare.

Cardiac pacemaker battery life

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