CLS - got some answers

• by golden_snitch
• 2014-06-17 12:06:01
• Checkups & Settings
• 1563 views
• 2 comments

Hi!

Didn't have to wait till my 'fine tuning' appointment next week, a Biotronik tech got back to me via e-mail. The two questions I had sent him were:

1) Does the CLS sensor forget everything it has learned so far after every interrogation that includes a change of settings (even if those settings are no relevant to the CLS sensor itself)?

Answer: Yes, there is a new CLS-initiation after every change of settings. Biotronik has realized that this is a problem, and they are working on an update for the programmer software that will solve this. I told the tech to hurry up, because this is really frustrating. When I go in for fine tuning next week, I'll have been running 2-3 times per week for the past two months, and within seconds all the learning that my CLS has done during that training, will be gone. It's sad :-( I know that the aggressive rate response I'll have then, will only last a couple of days, but still, it's frustrating.

2) What is the relationship between the CLS sensor and the accelerometer?

Answer: The accelerometer tells the CLS sensor when the patient is at rest (or at least helps it to correctly sense when the patient is at rest). And it works as a backup when the CLS sensor is deactivated, for instance during a mode switch episode triggered by atrial fibrillation. But for daily life activities and exercising, the accelerometer is not active, only the CLS (if your pacer is programmed in DDD-CLS/VVI-CLS mode). So, if a doctor ever tell you that the accelerometer has been switched off, and you are on CLS only, that is non-sense. It's simply not possible. It will always be there as a backup and for the periods of rest.

Best wishes

Inga