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Do i need Defibrillator??
Hello All,
I got a cardiac arrest 3 year back at the age of 25 and doctors have implanted Defibrillator in my chest. They said the haven't found any reason for the cardiac arrest. Till now they havent found any probelms or shocks or any other irregualar heart rythms after that in this 3 years span. I know it is always good if we have Defibrillator for secured life after the cardiac arrest. But iam not intrested this electronic device in my chest. And also iam playing sports like cricket, tennis, racquet ball etc.,and i haven't face any problems.
So please suggest me do i need to still carry this Defibrillator?
--
Thanks,
Mohan
20 Comments
Hi
by Peter.Nash - 2008-01-31 02:01:52
there is another way of looking at this ...My bet is there are a lot of young dead souls who would be alive now if they had had an ICD implanted.. surely you wouldn't want to ask them what they thought?????. I had mine 3 years before it see action and I was thinking the same is it worth having......answer Yes!!
Peter.N
Well...
by kyle0816 - 2008-01-31 02:01:54
Thomast,
Some of us on here are pretty young and it's kind of a hard thing to live with at a young age, especially with it protruding so much. I think if I were much older I wouldn't care but those cosmetic things (as bad as it sounds) have an affect on us younger folk :-). It's easy to say "well if they don't like you because of it then they aren't worth it" but it's still hard to deal with. It makes it even harder when you aren't sure you absolutely need it. I think If I were told I would die without it then it would be a different story, but they told me it might never go off and is just there as a safety net. That just makes it really hard to swallow sometimes.
Told I probably wouldn't need mine either
by turboz24 - 2008-01-31 03:01:01
When I had my first Vtach, the Doc was like "Oh, I doubt it will ever happen again and I doubt you will ever need your ICD...". Well, 4+ shocks later, I guess I did need it. I still hate it with a passion, but I guess in the end I did need it (even though it's ugly as sin).
Now, I do think that EP's should be more concerned about image issues with the ICD. They act as if it isn't a big deal and just seem to care that you are "alive". If I had been shown the size of the device, the "normal" location, and options for implantation, I can guarentee you I would have asked for sub-pectoral implantation as well as location on my right side (being left handed myself).
Now, if I get my pericardial ablation, and don't get shocked for the remainder of the lifespan of this device, I will personally really consider if I would replace it, or only have it removed.
Um
by sboissonnas - 2008-01-31 03:01:10
Kyle0816 - I know where you're coming from. My EP looks at me like I'm going to keel over at any moment because I chose to get a PM instead of a defibrillator. (I had that study done too but I didn't go into vtach.) Thing is, if you DID go into vtach in that study, and if they don't know why you passed out before, then, um, well, how to put this..
The real trouble with these sorts of heart problems that we have is that people usually don't find out they need a defibrillator until they're already dead. And by then, it's just a little too late.
I'm really wrestling with this myself right now. My doctor clearly wants me to get an ICD. I clearly don't want to. I'm not convinced yet that my conditions warrant one, but I'm rare enough that nobody truly knows -what- will happen to me. Not him, not me, no matter how much I want to convince myself otherwise. When I was faced with incontrovertible proof that my heart stops during my fainting episodes, I agreed to get the PM. At the time I sort of railed against it, because I figured hey, if I just never pass out again, I'll never need it! Right? Yeah, no - life doesn't work that way. And as much as I don't want or think I need an ICD, I'm literally gambling on that guess with my life right now. If I'm wrong, the odds are strongly that I won't live to find out.
You guys are actually lucky (in a weird, unfortunate way), you know you have something potentially lethal going on (Kyle, that EP test pretty much shows that your heart is susceptible to abnormal rhythms under events that could happen in everyday life) and you found out *without* dying. Your ICDs are there to keep you alive if it ever happens again. Hey it's true, you may never need your ICD ever again. I may never need my pacemaker (or ICD, should I get one). But are you willing to bet - with your life as the stakes - that the problem you've already had once will never happen again? Or would you stick with the ICD you already have, warts and all, because you know that with it, you WILL survive if it happens again?
It's not fair, and it's not easy to think about, and none of us should ever have to be in this position. Yet here we are anyway. But at least we *are* here, right?
Take care,
Stephanie
Ha
by kyle0816 - 2008-01-31 08:01:39
Turboz24,
That's funny you should say that about placement etc. I was so concerned with the placement I asked if it could be placed under the pec and I was happy to find out it could. Also, being left handed myself they put mine on the right side. My EP Dr. said they have done many studies in Europe which shows it doesn't matter which side you put on. Those two things at least I'm grateful for.
And Stephanie you are right, it's just hard to take sometimes.
As for me they said my electrical pathways don't go in a normal circuit, they kind of are just a random pattern so ablation wouldn't fix it. It's just so weird to go so long in my life without anything and then all of the sudden when I don't also have any other underlying heart conditions.
Oh well, that's life right.
Yes, it can
by turboz24 - 2008-01-31 10:01:30
Obviously from kyle0816's comment it can be placed under the muscle. I'm sure he has more insite into it's appearance. I guess it would all depend on how much muscle is there also. I've got around a 45" chest, so I'm sure it whouldn't be all that visible. The issue with standard placement and if your fit it's pretty obvious all the time. Mine sticks up a lot just sitting, but when I move or flex, it literally leaps up on the muscle and is pretty much exposed in full relief. I'm sure the opposite would be true with it under the muscle, though.
Me too
by kyle0816 - 2008-01-31 12:01:44
I feel the same as you do. I passed out and came to on my own and they couldn't find any problems with my heart (they know I didn't have a heart attack), everything looked perfect. I had like 12 tests done. There was one test, an EP study where they got my heart rate up to 183 bpm and I apparently went into vtach. They did it twice they said with the same result. That's why they said I needed one and they made me feel like I could die at any second if I didn't have one. So far I've been perfectly fine with no problems at all. It's only been 9 months for me but I feel the same way you do. I mean I played sports my entire young life with no problems. Sometimes I think it was a big mistake to give them the ok to implant it.
Turbo
by kyle0816 - 2008-02-01 03:02:04
Yeah my Dr told me I had a pretty thick pec muscle but you can still see it if you look at it from an angle, there is a little raise curve towards the inner part of my chest. When I move my arm around you can definitely see the outline more but if I'm just sitting down you can't. Even when I have on very tight fitted t-shirts you can't see it really. At the beach when I'd lay back a bit on my beach chair no one could tell I had it at all (except for the scar). The thing is they put it under the pectoralis major but ON TOP of the pectoralis minor. So it's not completely under all the pec muscle, just the larger one. I think if they made them just a LITTLE bit thinner and smaller you wouldn't be able to tell I had it at all. I'm really hoping someday very soon that technology happens. I've looked up "world's smallest ICD" on google and found there are some out right now that are smaller than what I have which is a Medtronic Entrust.
Can Depend on Where You Live !!!
by peter - 2008-02-01 03:02:13
If you live in the UK you should keep it as the implantation rate per million is low and its difficult to get a pacemaker when you need one. I know 2 people at the moment who have been told they need pacemakers in the UK but there is no plan to give them one. If you have private medical insurance they may have just fitted it to be 100% safe and collect wads of cash from the insurance. Ive seen that happen as well. Its a very difficult decision for you. You could let this pacemaker run its course and if it has done nothing during that time you maybe dont need a replacement. Wow its a difficult call. Cheers Peter
kyle
by turboz24 - 2008-02-01 06:02:44
"Even when I have on very tight fitted t-shirts you can't see it really"
Oh, I threw those out when I ended up with the ICD..........
you Clowns are killing me with laughter
by Larry1t - 2008-02-05 02:02:06
R U serious?
You have to look *cool* so you're willing to toss your life out the window for that perfect look?
Gag me with a lizard's tongue.
Your LIFE IS AT STAKE, you friggin nitwits. Go ahead and DIE because of your vanity. There are already too many people on the planet.
Larry
by kyle0816 - 2008-02-05 02:02:58
Yeah it's easy to say that Larry, but it's different when you are young and the quality of your life it's altered because of it. Yes we will most likely stay alive no matter what with the ICD, but some of us also don't know if we need it and get very depressed with it. There is a delicate balance between being happy in life just because you are alive or being alive and absolutely miserable because you feel you are grotesque.
You being 62 years old probably see things in a much different light than someone who say is 22, 30 etc.
I also realize there are many many people WAY worse off than I am and that complaining about a "little" box in my chest seems ridiculous. However, when it's your life and you have to live with it everyday it isn't as easy to "get over it" as you make it out to be.
Mohan
by Nutbeem - 2008-02-05 07:02:32
I have to echo Larry here, and I'm 38. Are you kidding me?
Mohan, if you've been through cardiac arrest, and I have, you know how fast it comes on without warning, and how few people survive it to live to get an ICD. At 28 years old, it may be cramping your style a bit, but when you're married with 3 kids, it's an absolute Godsend.
Don't trade short term comfort for 50 more years of life. The ICD is not that big of a deal.
Again
by kyle0816 - 2008-02-05 10:02:30
I think since Mohan has had a heart attack that a defibrillator is the smart thing to do. But I also think it's pretty screwed up saying things like "Your LIFE IS AT STAKE, you friggin nitwits. Go ahead and DIE because of your vanity," or "I have to echo Larry here, and I'm 38. Are you kidding me?"
Giving people your opinion is one thing, but berating them is a bit off base in my opinion.
Once again, I think people who are married with kids or who are older and could care less about their appearance look at life differently than a single person does who may be trying to find someone that isn't put off by the lump on their chest. It may seem crazy to you people but I think you need to respect their view of all this. Anyway that's just my opinion! ;-)
I think we are missing the point
by turboz24 - 2008-02-05 11:02:10
Most of us have said that we needed our device and if Mohan had a sudden cardiac arrest, then he obviously needed one also.
I think what I was trying to say is you may need something, but you don't have to love it either. I'm sure we all need our driver's licenses, but I doubt anyone "loves" going to the DMV. The same can be said with the ICD. I will admit that I need mine, but I also will admit that I despise it.
It is important for Mohan to know that there are other people out there who reaaaaallly dislike their ICD's, but even though it's uncomfortable for us, we still have them.
Now on to risk assessment. If you had the ICD implanted for cardiac arrest at say 28, have the implant for 10 years, when it comes time to remove it/replace it, that is when I would discuss it and see if it's even necessary.
Risk assessment
by kyle0816 - 2008-02-06 12:02:52
Yeah, I asked my EP Dr. about that. What do I do if by the time I need my battery changed the thing hasn't gone off at all. He told me at that point they'd probably put another one in until that battery died and then if the second one did nothing would probably recommend me having it taken out for good. Hmmm, at that point I'd be extremely pissed I had to have the thing for 10 years. What can you do right....
complaining is good....
by turboz24 - 2008-02-17 03:02:15
"A little *bump* under your skin does not make you a freak. Maybe if it was in the middle of your forehead, but since it is in the chest area...it is easy enough to cover it up."
Well, it's more like a hockey puck, not a "little bump", but that is how I deal with mine. Under no circumstances will I ever look at myself without a shirt on so long as I have the ICD. The only people who will ever see me shirtless as long as I have an ICD is a doc who is working on me or a corner.
I would never go up to my cousin who had a radical mastectomy and go "what's the big deal, it's just a breast. You should be greatful you are alive and afterall, you could always just wear a bra/shirt." That's just cruel.
For me It has nothing to do with what other people think, it has to do with your own self image.
My father had a hard time understanding why it bothered me so much, so I gave him this anictdote. My father is a clean freak, so I tell him "You look into your living room and see a big ass spot right in the middle of the carpet, you can clean and clean it, but it will never go away. Infact, the cleaner the room is the worse that one spot looks." His comment was "Well, I'd put a couch over it". Well, there you go, but I can also promise you he would always be concious of that spot under the couch.
So, I say complain because I will go ahead and complain to, because it bugs me just as much if not more.
turboz24
by Larry1t - 2008-02-17 03:02:54
Well you said it. It has to do with your own self image.
Do you suffere from polymorphic disorder? Or is this some kind of adolescent vanity? What it comes down to, is you care too much about how other people look at you. Secretly you think you're a freak of nature. Even if that were true, you're an ALIVE feak of nature. Or would you rather you were perfection in Death?
Someday, if you live long enough, you will discover what is and isn't important in Life. You've got a ways to go.
kyle0816
by Larry1t - 2008-02-17 07:02:55
Dear kyle0816,
Do you want to live to 62 like I have? A simple yes or no will do. I am going to presume, until you answer, that you're going to say Yes.
Well here is the deal: some of us will need computers installed into ourselves to monitor and control our heart rhythms.
When I say *some,* there are 250,000 people worldwide with the same or similar device already installed, who most likely wouldn't be alive without it.
I have gone to the funerals of too many youngsters that didn't get a chance, or have a chance, because they disregarded medical advice regarding their heart disease.
We are the Lucky Ones. We didn't die. Whom of the dead wouldn't want to trade places with us?
Isn't heart disease the number 1 killer in Western Society? Well, we've had our brush with death, and those here, including myself, escaped leaving the building at the last minute. So we're still around, still alive, and still kicking. IMO, this is a Good Thing.
There are people who have it worse. Missing arms, legs, paraplegics, quadraplegics, people with kidney failure that have to spend 7 hours every 3rd day on dialysis machines.
Kids born with spina bifida, learning disabilities, sensitivity to sunlight so if they are ever exposed to it they will die.
We have little to complain about. But if it makes you feel better then rant away. I just think it is selfish beyond belief to complain about having our lives saved, when those that didn't make it would trade places with us in a heartbeat.
We are not freaks. A little *bump* under your skin does not make you a freak. Maybe if it was in the middle of your forehead, but since it is in the chest area...it is easy enough to cover it up. Winning a beauty contest isn't something to die for.
Best of health to all of you.
Larry1t
You know you're wired when...
You know the difference between hardware and software.
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The experience of having a couple of lengths of wire fed into your heart muscle and an electronic 'box' tucked under the skin is not an insignificant event, but you will survive.
defibrillator
by thomast - 2008-01-31 01:01:15
You have it, wgy not keep it? It is just like having fire insurance on your house, you may never need it, but you just might.