Worried Uncle about Bi-Ventricular pm

Hi everyone, I'm posting this message on behalf of my Uncle who doesn't have access to a computer, so would be greatful for some information. My Uncle is 71 years old and had a quadruple bipass 6 years ago after suffering a heart attack . He now has heart failure yet is still quite active with exceptions of breathlessness & tiredness, he also has atrial problems & heart block & has been recommended to have a bi-ventricular pm with sync therapy otherwise he has 6 months to live. He is very concerned as although he has some off days generally he still does things he wants to do and is worried that the actual procedure could cause him more probs mainly during the procedure & poss in the long run, as we've seen a lot of comments more negative than positive. If anyone has had a successful bi-vent experience or has a similar situation we would be great to hear from. Many thanks! MelMel

7 Comments

synch therapy?

by ldebaugh - 2012-10-01 04:10:54

What is synch therapy? Is it a PM feature or an ICD feature. Does it apply to atrial fib?
M'Liz

PM Surgery in General

by donr - 2012-10-01 08:10:40

Mel's Uncle: First of all, welcome aboard!

Second - Not a condemnation of our members, but a statement of fact! A significant portion of our nearly 19,000 members have questions or need advice about the procedure & living w/ a PM. Therefore, this community is skewed toward the negative side of PM's.

That's because we aso have a large number of denizens who are happy as clams buried in the muck on a New England beach and can answer those questions. Further, a lot of them have had problems in the past, resolved them, & now are living happily ever after, like in a fairy tale, only better - our lives are REAL.

Now, to put that into perspective, there are millions of PM hosts world wide who are oblivioius to problems. You just do not hear from them. Face it - it is not something that a New PM hosts does - to run out & take an ad on TV saying "Hey World, I just got a PM & I feel great & the World is mine!"

Because of the large number of success stories, we also have a significant quantity of knowledge about PM's, their implantatiion procedure & living w/ them post -op.

I know that there are at least three who have the PM you are talking about & can talk first person about them.

Don't know when they will wake up & turn on the computer, but you should hear from a decent enough sample of people to gain confidence in the world of the PM - even for those w/ significant other problems.

The best to you in your quest for knowledge.

Don




You are special!

by Hope - 2012-10-01 09:10:13

Hi! Welcome! I am not qualified to answer your concerns, as my heart issues are different. Just want to say I admire your love and respect for your Uncle and your effort to get the best of medical care/treatment for him. Hopeful Heart

Tell your Uncle

by Bill T - 2012-10-01 09:10:15

I'm 75 and have a CRT-D which is the bi-ventricular pm with sync therapy that you mentioned. I haven't had the heart problems that your uncle has, mine was implanted after an AV Node ablation for chronic Atrial Fibrillation.

My EF was low, in the 30% range, after a couple of months when it was checked again, it had increased to the upper 50 percentile. If he has similar success with the CRT it should go a long way towards helping with his "breathlessness & tiredness" symptoms.

Hope for the best for your Uncle,

Bill T

Worried Uncle

by MelMel - 2012-10-01 12:10:40

Just want to say thank everyone for your response's, they are greatly appreciated & have been taken on board by my Uncle. He is now going to mull everything over again before he decides to have it done on Wednesday. Oh and thank you Hopeful Heart for your kind comment! MelMel:-)

The way I looked at it

by Grateful Heart - 2012-10-02 12:10:38

I didn't have much of a choice. You said in your post your Uncle would have 6 months to live without it. I too have a Bi-V ICD. My EF was 24%. As long as the doctor says its a go, he will most likely feel so much better after it. I know I did. My EF went to 50%, although it didn't happen right away. I know I am very lucky. The biventricular pm will help the right and left sides of his heart beat in sync. Right now they are out of sync and his heart is working so much harder with less output, hence the breathlessness. Maybe a 2nd opinion will help? Good luck to your Uncle and on his decision.

Uncle doing ok

by MelMel - 2012-10-14 04:10:32

Well It's been over a week since my Uncle had his pacemaker fitted, although the surgeon opted for a more similar pacemaker instead of the bi-vent. Anyway all seems well except for a bit of bleeding where the incision was, but hopefully this will heal soon. Thanks again for all your responses.

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