pacemaker insertion nursing

My father, 89, recently had a pacemaker inserted due to bradycardia. His PMD and internal medicine specialist started him on Coumadin afterwards. Since my step-mother had been hospitalized a week before with GI bleeding due to long term (20 years) effects of Coumadin, my father is reluctant to keep on with the medication now he's at home.

The pain associated with an implanted pacemaker may be musculoskeletal or nerve related. Most likely related to the minor surgery required for insertion of the pacemaker. This type of pain related to the incision should heal within weeks. If you have persistent chest pain at the site of the pacemaker, it might be reasonable to see your doctor so that possible causes can be evaluated.

will there be personality changes after pacemaker insertion?My son is 24 and fears becoming"hyper",he now is fairly "laid back".Is this unfounded?

In my experience, when a Pacemaker is inserted by a Cardiologist, a representative by the Pacemaker manufacturer follows up the insertion and programs the pacemaker in the hospital. It's not unusual that it has to be tweaked from time to time. If your husband still isn't feeling right, I'd request that you contact your Cardiologist and ask for a manufacturer's rep to be present to review the history of your heart beats since it was inserted.

Normally, she should not have such pain after the insertion of the pacemaker. Maybe its position is causing some muscle spasm that is affecting her arm. The best option is to take her back to the doctor who inserted the pacemaker and explain the situation to him. If she has some fever, it may mean that the pacemaker place is infected and needs an urgent intervention.

We are trying to figure out if we should go direclty to the insertion of a pacemaker vs. an ablasion procedure. Since ablasion procedure may need to be repeated and flecainide (drug after ablasion) is questionable, should we just go directly to the pacemaker?

I got a pacemaker June 20th on the left side. There has been swelling in my left shoulder and arm from almost the time I got the pacemaker. The left side of my neck is contantly stiff. A venogram showed no clots. The shoulder and are feel very tight and the left arm is obviously larger than the right arm to the naked eye. My cardiologist said this is unusual but didn't think I have anything to worry about. Did my surgeon put the pacemaker in incorrectly? Is it crimping my vein?

I am on my 3rd pacemaker after an ablation and pacemaker insertion 12 years ago. Since my new one on the 5th of May was ok with the exception of lacking energy to walk far. Prior to my last insertion i was walking 4k's a day. Since then no way. i went back to my Doctor 4 weeks ago and told him. He said he would make it more sensitive. Then I experienced headaches amd feelings of nausea on many occasions. i went back the following week to be told my BP had gone sky high. 160/102.

As a hospital in patient the nursing staff was having a difficult time locating a vein for a IV due to dehydration so after several failed attempts they were successful at insertion on the top of my right hand, after my release I realized that from a inch above my wrist to my fingers have become numb, along with stinging and burning also motor impairment.

I have a close friend who has been told by her doctor that her pacemaker will only last up to 6 months. She has no insurance and is low income. Does anyone know how to help her with this. She has been going to different clinics and is exploring every avenue but keeps being told no one can help her. Can anyone give advice on how to help her.

She told the nurse in the ICCU that she did not want a pacemaker and just wanted to have relief from the pain. The hospital has her advanced directives on file and she is designated as DNR. She made me promise that I would not let them put in a pacemaker. But, as the pain worsened and they wouldn't give her anything for it, the doctor and nurse told her that the pacemaker was the only way to make the pain go away.

Hi, I'm a nursing mother. It's been almost a year since my mirena IUD insertion however i still occasionally bleeding, especially when i"m really hungry. I'm not joking or loosing my mind. If i miss my meal, nursed and feeling really hungry i bleed right away. it's very annoying. Beyond annoying. But is it normal? and how long is it going to last? i had a coper iUD after my first baby but i never had such a side affects.

For example, if her mind was in such a state where no one could care for her unless she was heavily sedated in a nursing home, we would consider removing the pacemaker. For now, I believe we did the right thing.

The American Heart Association Guidelines list a range of indications for permanent pacemaker insertion, including a period of asystole lasting more than 3.0 seconds. Does your 2.8 second pause warrant pacemaker insertion? Once again, this should only be considered in patients without an underlying reversible cause such as hypokalemia or pauses occurring in the presence of SVT. A repeat Holter following correction of your hypokalemia will be important. I hope this information helps.

Thank heaven he finally listened to you! Now at least you will have access to another cardiologist, albeit in another state! I have worked in pedi heart surgery but it has been a long time ago. My guess would be that he would only be in a couple of days, unless they have plans for a more thorough evaluation, which might be likely. Kids bounce back quickly, typically. We would have some that had simple open heart surgery and would be happily playing in their crib in 2 days, asking for soda!

I told her she could fall anyway, because she is unsteady and could end up in a nursing home anyway, and if the dementia continues, would just prolong her life in a way she would not want. Other family members think it should be done, even though she has requested not to do anyithing to prolong her life, or to ressitate her. Can the heart stop during the Cardio Version, and if so how would her DNR apply? I am very confused on what is the right thing to do. I need to know soon. Thank You.

My mom is 89, had a stroke, diabetic, almost blind, living in a nursing home for 3 years. Her pacemake is going out, it is to regulate her heart beat. My mom did not want to have artificial means to be kept alive. She just lays in bed hurting. Our question is this, is the pacemake an artificial mean? Her doctor says without the new one, she will be gone in 1 to 3 months.

He is frail, has congestive heart failure, and lives in a nursing home. The cardiologist there said that he needed to replace his 8 year old pacemaker. Obviously, the operation would require transportation to a hospital. Does this make sense? Is the risk of an adverse outcome outweight the risk of not having the operation performed? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

This is probably a weird question for the ages! Last week, I had a pacemaker removed because the wound was irritated. The pacemaker was replaced, the pacemaker pocket in the doctor's words "washed out" and the incision closed with steri strips. A few days later, my incision started leaking a golden liquid that I immediately recognized as Betadine or similar. About a week after the surgery, I'm sick. I'm running a low fever, headache, and feel horrible.

He has already gone over the risks high chance of ending up with a pacemaker. I will have to stay in the hospital over night to have my heart continuously monitored. I wanted to hear some other stories from people who have had this procedure, how long was the hospital stay? when did you go back to work? any complications?

i know what this is, but i do not know how to help ease her final years. i do not want to put her in a nursing home, but i have to go back to work and cannot afford a private nurse. what are my options.

Last Friday, I went in for a cardiac catheter procedure. I have hypertensive cardiomyopathy and 2nd degree AV block type 2. The procedure was to assess the state of my arteries before determining the need for a pacemaker. At that time, the cardiologist found a "mass" located directly behind my heart. I was immediately sent for an MRI the same day. The cardiologist there concluded that I have a posterior mediastinal tumor approximately 4.5cm in size directly behind the heart.

One of the electro-cardiologists even mentioned her frustration with the lack of ongoing studies of patients with this problem. They seem to stop shortly after the insertion of a pacemaker. Most of those people however have incidents more frequently than every 8 years! I think that, unfortunately, this is likely to be yet one more medical issue where there are no clear cut answers.

I have had one performed on 7/15/08 (the AFIB never stopped) and the second on 12/2/08. I am still going into AFIB. I take Sotalol and Metoprolol (bad side effects), along with commoudin. My surgeon says it may take up to 4 months for the AFIB to stop. I have worn an event monitor for MONTHS and it clearly shows the AFIB events.I wonder if I am being stalled / put off until time when a pacemaker may be installed. Any ideas?

It makes sense that a heart rate that slow, that consistently will need pacing to bring it back up to a more normal rate.

Pacemaker insertion nursing

Common Questions and Answers about Pacemaker insertion nursing

pacemaker