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Dofetilide, the hospital, and me

I've just returned from 3 1/2 days in the hospital. Wasn't fun because I felt perfectly fine, but was tied to the bed 24 hours/day due to the constant monitoring. The results weren't great (hopefully someone here will tell me I'm wrong about that :). They started me on 250mcg. Dofetilide is given to you twice a day with lots of EKGs and blood draws in-between, night and day, in addition to the 24 hr/day monitor leads constantly attached. They took me to 500mcg, but soon r...

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Heart rate

Had a av node ablation with a Micra pacemaker, no leads, April 3rd. They set my bpm at 80 then 3 weeks later to 70 bpm then a week and a half ago down to 60 bpm. I am having major energy issues but I think I felt better with the 70 bpm. Has anyone else had to have their rate raised. Thank you for any advice. 

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CRT device when do I need one ?

Glad to have found this useful forum on pacemakers . I am 45 years old , I had a heart attack 2 years back  & had a CABG .

Currently my e.f is 32-33 % & am on heart failure medicines such as diuretic ,arni & ivabradine.

My e.f has remained the same since my surgery even after taking these meds .

I go for 25 minute walks in the morning & evening and am never breathless. If I exert myself by sweeping the floor ( vigorous hand activity) for say 10 minutes o...

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2 year battery decrease in 4 months

Hi guys

i was recently sent the info from my my recent pacer transmission I did from home.

2 things I noticed:

1. My battery has gone from 7.5 years to 5.5 years (since my last transmission which I believe was 3-4 months ago)

2. Miscellaneous Observations (MISC)

RV pacing > 40% noted

i reached out to my EP to get her take so waiting on that.

during my last pacer upgrade there was insulation damage on one of my 16 yr old leads that they fixed w...

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Feeling confused

I'm a 53 year old male and I've had my pacemaker for 2 weeks now. I was admitted to the hospital with critical Heart Block and I also have high blood pressure. All of this is brand new. Started passing out on March 1st of this year, where we found my BP at 210/115 and started BP meds. Brought my BP to 130/90 within 3 weeks but still passing out. After many tests cardiologist says to the hospital you need a pacemaker now and we need to monitor you 24/7. My heart was stopping multiple t...

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xyltiol

I saw a report in major media sites recently that the Cleveland Clinic did a study that found that xylitol, the artificial sweetener, doubles one's chances of a heart attack or stroke, in large amounts.

I believe that people taking statins and diabetics have dry mouth problems, and so there may be members on this forum using xylitol products to help dry mouth.  I use it because of having Sjogren's Syndrome, chewing xylitol gum after lunch at work to clean my teeth, and...

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No stable threshold

Can anyone tell me what "No stable threshold found" would mean? I tried checking my manual but couldn't find anything on it..

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PR Replacement

My first post, as I just stumbled upon this group. I am 49 years old. I had SVT for many years in my teens,and underwent three ablasions. The last one knicked my aorta, giving me heart block. I did ok, until I was pregnant with my first baby. At 17 weeks pregnant while in church, my heart stopped and passed out. The EMT's were able to get me back and able to monitor my heart while enroute to the hospital, so they were able to see what was happening. 

I had a pacer and lead chan...

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High Heart Rate

My CRT-D normally keeps my resting heart rate at 55/56 but this week I keep getting readings of 75 and occasionally up to 95. At the higher levels I feel unwell and just stay in bed. I'm on 10mg of bisoprolol and that used to keep me at 55. My home ECG says "possible AF" when at the high levels. I have an appointment with my cardiologist next week but I wondered if anyone else experiences this. Thanks.

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Headphones blue tooth

Has anyone used bluetooth headphones with no problems or any issues in regards

 

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Some news

Hello everyone, I finally got a telephone call from my cardiologist/EP this morning confirming that my stress echo test carried out on the 29th May showed that parts of my heart were not getting enough oxygen.  

It would appear to be ischaemia, but I will need an angiogram to confirm the diagnosis and extent of any disease.  Because of my difficult symptoms during the dobutamine stress echo which was positive for ischaemia in only 2 LV segments, they cannot rule out micro...

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Getting an osteopath treatment

My osteopath siad that the pacemaker is touching my shoulder bone.  I know that the surgeon really jammed it up against the shoulder bone when he put it in.  I have a lot of issues with my should and the facia and tendons in the shoulder.  Is it ok for the osteopath to work close to the device and if so how sturdy is the device to withstand a bit of massage etc.?

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Cycling

I have decided to take up a bit of biking since where I live there are a lot of trails.  This evening they had been working on a part of the trail and it was incredibly bumpy. Little jerky bumps.  All of a sudden I felt like I was having a heart attack as I felt pulling inside my heart..  could it be that the bumps were creating pulling on the wires? In the end it felt that way as it stopped when the path smoothed out.

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59YO CHB Dual Lead Pacemaker

New member, never thought I'd have a pacemaker at 59! I'm active duty military, good physical condition, former college football athlete, no other serious health issues in my life.

It started about a year ago when I noticed I was getting a little light-headed when I would stand at attention. Didn't think too much about it, just dealt with it. About 3 months ago I was working in the yard all day, nothing out of the ordinary for me. It was warm but not oppressive heat and I wa...

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CRT Implant

Hi all,

I would love to hear from members who have a CRT Device fitted as I am due to have an upgrade from a dual chamber pacemaker imminently and I am really anxious. 
My story starts with three ablations for SVT and atrial pacer for the slow heart rate that resulted from the procedures. I was then implanted with a second atrial pacer when the first battery ran low and then onto a dual chamber upgrade after a finding of Left Bundle Branch Block after taking flecainide. After...

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Pacemaker Festival?

Hi.  It's been a while since I came on here, but I just recently watched a video of a guy attending a redhead festival and I know there's been a blonde festival... So, I'm wondering....are there any pacemaker festivals where people with pacemakers unite together?  You know, young recipients wonder if there is anyone around them like them and so something like this would help them to make friends with fellow pacemaker recipients.  

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Side effects

Hi i had a pacemaker fitted in Jan this year, since then i have constant pain in the area of the pacemaker, futhermore i have severe back pain, i have had back pain for a number of years but nothing like as severe as  now, my Doctor tells me it is not related to the pacemaker, i beg to differ, can anyone else identify with this issue, regards Joseph.

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Hawthorn Berry Extract and other traditional Meds

I know that complementary / alternative medicine is a topic that many hold strong opinions on, and that's okay; I respect everyon's right to choose.  The purpose of this post is for me to try to gather information for myself.

I'm on a Beta Blocker holiday after a long discussion with my PCP and an email chat w/ my cardiologist.  The "holiday" is due to side effects of the drug for me, and my PCP in particual told me I was not being rash or irresponsi...

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Bras and protruding pacemaker

Over the past year, I've lost a significant amount of weight. My pacemaker is now protruding. Among other annoyances, it's very difficult to wear a bra now as the straps often get caught on it while I'm moving it's very irritating. 
 

Anyone ever heard or had this problem? Wondering if a breast lift would be covered by insurance so I wouldn't have to wear anymore...

 

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Weed-wacker and lawn Mower

I'm abut 2 days away from the 6 week post-implant mark (not that I'm counting.... *haha*).  I know what exercises and range of motion I can  now engage in but forgot to ask about activities like using my battery operated weed-wacker or gas powered, push mower.  Mother Nature has been having a field day and I'm now faced with jungles of tall grasses and weeds (think 3+ feet tall.)   I'm not worried about EM fields but more so if these are safe activities for...

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You know you're wired when...

You play MP3 files on your pacer.

Member Quotes

It is just over 10 years since a dual lead device was implanted for complete heart block. It has worked perfectly and I have traveled well near two million miles internationally since then.