Getting PM tomorrow

Kinda scared. My resting rate is 30 heart stops 2 sec a few times while I am sleeping.

Just don't know what to expect. I know it could be worse, like having my chest cracked open, so I guess I am lucky.

I have 7 stents, some inside others.

7 Comments

More good luck from the UK

by Tattoo Man - 2012-11-08 03:11:37

I just wanted to add my best wishes to the Guys above.

Accept any anaesthetic that they offer and keep you feet warm !!

Get back to us and let us know how it went

Tattoo Man

Good luck

by Janey L - 2012-11-08 05:11:12

Hi. Just to wish you all the best for your PM procedure tomorrow, hope all goes well. Thinking of you.
Best wishes
Janey

Good luck!!

by Colie Marie - 2012-11-08 06:11:25

don't worry! you're be just fine! i got my pacemaker when i was 17 because i have a third degree heart block. my heart rate was in the 30s as well. i'm 18 now and it will be one year since i had my surgery this february. i hardly even remember my pacemaker is there. it's more comforting having it now because i know i wont have to worry about anything going wrong with my heart anymore.. good luck to you though! i'm sure everything will go great! message me anytime if you'd like.
- nicole.

Hi Rosieg

by IAN MC - 2012-11-08 09:11:18

After tomorrow is over you will wonder what you were scared about.

Having a PM fitted is quite a minor procedure . I can only tell you how mine went; other people may have different experiences :-

- the actual procedure took under an hour .

- I was conscious throughout and enjoyed the conversation I was having with the Dr and nurses. Some people choose not to be conscious ...it is your decision

- I felt no pain whatsoever during the procedure

- I didn't feel any pain afterwards, apparently some people do

- I was walking briskly within a couple of days without any problems

- I went off on holiday 8 days after the PM, the holiday involved a lot of driving. I had a great time.

- the most important thing of all, my heart rate no longer falls to dangerous levels

- some people seem to be emotionally disturbed by the whole thing. I can honestly say that I wasn't at all and I hope that you are the same.

I would rather have a PM fitted than a stent any day !!!

Best of luck and let us know how you get on

Ian

good luck!

by Tracey_E - 2012-11-08 09:11:58

As heart procedures go, this is one of the easiest! There are some good animations on St Jude's website that show how the pm works and how the surgery will go.
http://health.sjm.com/arrhythmia-answers/videos-and-animations

Wear a button up top to the hospital and skip the bra. You won't want to be twisting and contorting to put on a bra or pull a shirt over your head for a few days.

If your hr is only 30 right now, you will probably feel a big change as soon as they turn it on! My hr was about that also, it felt like I was mainlining coffee for the first week. Oxygen is good stuff ;o)

hi good luck

by jessie - 2012-11-08 11:11:59

the day i received my p.m. in 2006 my heart rate was 28 in the middle of the day. this was going on for four months so i was really lucky like a miracle that i survived. so the procedure itself was not bad at all. area sore after but soon healed. i slept a lot for about three months catching up with oxygen. oxygen is a great thing. i was conscious as well during the procedure. let us know how you are faring.jessie

you sound just like me!

by SK - 2012-12-11 04:12:14

I've got the exact same problem. My heart would occasionally pause and then beat at only 30 bpm (bradycardia). When that happened I would faint. I’m only 54 yo, healthy prior to this, so it was hard for me to accept that I was like an old car that’s starting to break down and needs to be fixed. I also really didn’t want something permanently placed inside of me. However, it’s an easy fix. There are 2 types of cardiologist, the plumbers and the electricians. You and I have an electrical problem. Those are way easier to fix than plumbing problems. My PM was implanted in Sept 2012 and all is well so far, like I said, an easy fix. Now I’m good for another 100K miles.

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A pacemaker completely solved my problem. In fact, it was implanted just 7 weeks ago and I ran a race today, placed first in my age group.