65 BPM fixed rate

I notice that I was easily getting winded with moderate physical activity, walking up a 10% hill at 6000 ft elevation, I felt hard heart beats, so I check my pulse, it was 65 BPM. It was very low for my activity, I would expect something in the 90 to 120 BPM range. I confirmed it later that day when roller skating, by increasing my speed to increase my heart rate, 65 BPM three test in a row of rest and speed. I am two weeks from a battery/generator change out. I was having increasing resistance in the upper chamber over two years. I think the Sinus Node lead may have failed leaving me in a Pacemaker alarm state of 65 BPM. This happened on a Friday night no Medtronic phone support, and I could not get thought the doctor after hour’s phone tree. I went to the ER, for a nice 6 hour visit. They sent me home with instructions to stay at a low activity rate and see my Cardiac Doctor Monday. On the EKG monitor it was a fixed 65 BPM for three hours while I was monitored. Is the 65 BPM an Alarm/survival mode indication on a Medtronic ADDR01 implanted in 2008?

3 Comments

Elective replacement

by Good Dog - 2015-11-21 01:11:06

Yes. When this pacemaker goes into elective replacement mode (3 months before end-of-life mode kicks-in), it sets your rate at 65 bpm and only paces your ventricle.

This happened to me several weeks ago. I also enjoyed a half-day in the ER to find that out. You will be fine, but I'll tell ya; IT SUCKS! Pacing only the ventricle made me feel terrible. There is nothing anyone can do to change the settings once it goes into this mode. You should try to move-up the change-out if you can. The good side of this is that the change-out is a piece of cake and you'll feel like a new man once it is changed.

You know, I went to the ER for the following reasons; My doc was out-of-town and the people in his office were altogether indifferent about my problem when I called. They didn't seem to know anything and just told me: "no big deal, don't worry!" Although I knew that my PM was likely in elective replacement mode when my pulse was stuck at 65 bpm, I didn't know that the settings couldn't be changed to make me feel better. I also thought that something else might be wrong, because I felt so bad. I got dizzy almost every time I stood up from a sitting position. Turns-out that with my Doc out-of-town I had to suffer for over a week until I could get it changed.

So after I got my new PM (Medtronic) I checked to see what happens when it goes to elective replacement mode. It turns-out that it does the same thing. So I asked my Pacer Tech if with the new unit, can you make changes when it goes into Elective replacement. She said: "I don't know". She didn't even say she'd try to find-out!!!

Next time, I will insure I get it changed before it goes into elective replacement.

I wish you the very best!!!!
David

BTW...........

by Good Dog - 2015-11-21 07:11:06

I looked-up the spec sheet for your PM. Yours is a different model than the model I had. My new PM is an ADDR03, but my old one was a sigma 300. Unfortunately, Medtronic doesn't publish much info that is easy to understand, so I can't be sure of this, but it appears that the settings of yours may be changeable while in the elective replacement mode. You should ask your doc or pacer tech. If they can restore your settings until it is changed that would be great! It wasn't possible with the Sigma 300 that I had.

Of course, these kind of problems always occur on a weekend...........

Similar experience

by JenSF - 2015-11-22 08:11:07

Hi,

Just wanted to say that I also had a similar experience this fall. Luckily, it wasn't as bad for me as it was for David. I also had a set rate of 65 for slightly over a month until I could get my surgery scheduled. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel totally horrible.

If you can't get your settings adjusted or move your surgery date up, make sure to be gentle with yourself. I'm guessing you won't be able to do even moderate exercise without feeling winded/dizzy, so let yourself be "lazy." Once the device is changed, you can get back to all that soon enough.

Jen

You know you're wired when...

“Batteries not included” takes on a new meaning.

Member Quotes

You now get to start a new life it's like being reborn.