Fast heart rate or pacemaker kicking in?

I had my pacemaker placed in 2008. I had hyper thyroid and it did damage to my heart. I had fast and slow heart rates and they had to place my pacemaker and then two days later I had radiation for my thyroid. The radiation was suppose to eliminate the fast heart rate. And it did for many years. In the past 2 years I have been having this feeling of fluttering of the heart and my heart feels like it racing fast followed with shortness of breath. It only lasts for a few seconds to minutes then passes. They have ran numerous test which all come back normal. I recently had a 30 day monitor and Dr said the first week I had some fast heart and he doubled my atenelol. I went last week for rest of results and Dr said u when i was feeling episodes either my pacemaker was kicking in at that time or I have an extra beat in my upper chamber and that was occurring. Neither dangerous but they are still occurring and getting worse to where sometimes I have to sit or lay down when they occur and they always stop me in my tracks. Even if it is my pacemaker I should not be feeling like that it never has before. When my cardiologist placed my pacemaker he said after the first few months I should not ever feel my pacemaker and if I did he wasn't doing his job. Those were his words so I feel that something is wrong now but I have a different Dr and he says everything is good.

Anyone have any ideas???
Does anyone else feel this way???

Thanks!

1 Comments

pac's and pvc's

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-27 10:05:13

Many of us get pac (premature atrial contractions) and pvc (premature ventricular contractions). They're little half beats before the full beat. They are annoying but harmless. They are unrelated to pacing, the heart is doing it on its own.

There are a very few people who can feel when the pm paces but it's rare. The signal is miniscule, mimicking what the heart should be doing on its own. If it's a timing issue, like the pm is giving the heart too much time to beat on its own before it kicks in, adjusting your settings may help. Some drs are more proactive and aggressive in doing this than others.

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My pacemaker was installed in 1998 and I have not felt better. The mental part is the toughest.