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New pacemaker running through battery at lightning speed
- by Ellie Mae
- 2018-10-16 21:00:02
- Batteries & Leads
- 1257 views
- 3 comments
I got my first PM in March if 2011. Two weeks ago I got a new generator. Which I think is a new unit. Today I got a call from the manufacturer to get set up for remote monitoring. A few hours later I got a call from my cardiologist’s office telling me I had to come in ASAP because my device was burning through it’s battery like crazy. Today’s transmission shows the current battery life to be just 4 years! What could cause it to be using so much of its battery life after just 2 weeks? I have to wait a couple of days for my appointment and I am concerned that I will have to undergo another replacement and once again br exposed to the risks that that entails. Has any one else had this happen?
3 Comments
leads
by Tracey_E - 2018-10-16 22:14:11
When one of my leads went bad, it blew through the new battery in two years. It took extra juice to get the signal through, picture running the air conditioner with the windows open. The house still cools but your bill skyrockets. They would have checked the leads thoroughly when they did the replacement.
They would have replaced the whole box. Could it be defective? Or maybe the report is off? Never heard of either one happening, but it's kind of crazy that it would blow through that much battery two weeks.
Replacements are not at all risky. Every surgery has an infection risk, but they can minimize it. I'm on my 5th, have never had a complication from surgery.
Good luck!! And please let us know what they say. This is a new one to me, I'm curious to hear what's going on.
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It may be the first time we've felt a normal heart rhythm in a long time, so of course it seems too fast and too strong.
Battery
by DAVID H - 2018-10-16 21:59:33
My 3-lead Medtronic VIVA XT CRD was implanted Jan 2015. The third lead is not in an optimum position causing higher than normal battery use (so I am told by EP and his nurse). I am currently on monthly interrogations and expecting battery end of life will be coming soon.