Swelling

My daughter is 27 and just had a pacemaker put in 3 months ago. She woke up today with her arm swollen. We went to her primary physician and she ordered a vascular study and they did an ultrasound on her arm and said it was negative. She did not have any blood clots in her arm. Any ideas what the next step we should take? There has to be a reason her arm is swollen.

9 Comments

A Little More Info Needed

by NiceNiecey - 2015-01-05 11:01:08

Good news that her arm was negative for a clot. At 27, she doesn't need that worry on top of a PM.

I am assuming - perhaps incorrectly - that the swollen arm is on the same side as her PM; can you confirm that?

Also, is her ENTIRE ARM swollen or just part of it?

Your answers will help others respond. In any case, I'd call the cardiologist's office too.

Sleep

by Duke Heart Patient - 2015-01-06 01:01:18

Did she sleep on it ?

swelling

by vattens1 - 2015-01-06 02:01:19

Does she have selling anywhere else. It's she on blood thinners. I had a pain arm some swelling but had clot on lung. Had a full body scan. Don't mean to scare you but it mayhelp

Swelling

by Andid - 2015-01-06 07:01:41

She does not have swelling any where else. She has Down Syndrome. Her heart rate was in the 30's before the PM and she was passing out and her blood pressure was really low. Her heart rate has improved but her blood pressure is still low , in the 80/50 range. Her hands are always cold and pale go I'm not sure if she has good circulation. I've mentioned that to her dr but haven't gotten any answers. I appreciate all the help. This is new to us.

Swelling

by Andid - 2015-01-06 07:01:45

Yes the arm that is swollen is on the side of the pacemaker. The entire arm is swollen. The top of her arm is 2 inches larger than the other and the bottom part is an inch larger. the arm is really tight.

Swelling

by Andid - 2015-01-06 08:01:12

Called my daughter's heart dr today and they were supposed to call me back but did not. Her regular doctor suggested she be fitted for a sleeve to help control the swelling. I do not understand why they would want to treat the problem without finding the cause. They do not seemed concerned but there has to be a cause for the swelling. I'm at a loss about what to do.

At a loss?

by Grateful Heart - 2015-01-06 09:01:49


You have options.

If no callback from the Doctor tomorrow, go to another Doctor for a 2nd opinion. If it appears to be getting worse....go to the ER.

If it were my child, I would be doing the same. You need some answers and your daughter needs medical attention from what you describe by the amount of swelling.

You can do this mom.

Grateful Heart

Ask the Doc

by Grateful Heart - 2015-01-06 10:01:50


What is her next step? If she doesn't have a plan go back to the Cardio so they can figure it out. Further tests like vattens1 said. That much swelling is not normal.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Grateful Heart

swelling of her arm

by meszyred - 2015-01-19 05:01:59

I have the same problem swelling of left arm, they finally sent me to a vein dr who found the leads caused my veins to occlude, they also after several trys found a blood clot at the leads going to the heart because of the occlusion. They just made sure the blood thinners were working and told me new paths for blood flow to the arm will form. I am 2 yrs post, my arm is still slightly swollen, the problem I have is I loose feeling in my arm all the time because the new paths for blood flow are very small so it takes longer for the blood flow to reach the lower part of my arm. The drs they don't like to admit there are problems with the PM. Ask them to send her to a vein DR.

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