Pm settings

Had my pm put in last October- I’ve noticed that when I exercise or get do something strenuous when my heart rate should be high it beats down to the 60bpm range which makes me not feel well my range is set at 60-160 just wondering if anyone experienced this also and what I should have my settings at I have a Medtronic icd- Thanks in advance Aaron 

4 Comments

We need more information

by AgentX86 - 2019-03-17 20:44:05

You don't say much about yourself, including why you got your pacemaker.  Without more information, we can only guess but it sounds like you don't have "rate response" turned on, for some reason.  This is something you should be discussing with your EP.

 

sudden drops

by Tracey_E - 2019-03-18 10:29:23

If I'm understanding correctly, your rate gets high when you work out then suddenly plummets? Do you have it for av block? I had something similar happen. There is a safety feature that kicks in when the atrial rate gets higher than the upper limit. We are  just working out but the pacer thinks it's afib and "helps" us out by pacing 2:1 so the atrial rate is flying along but the pacer is only pacing the ventricles every other beat. This is great if we really are in afib. If we are working out, it's like hitting a wall. Fixes are make sure your rate doesn't get above 150-155 so there is a cushion below your maximum rate, or if you have no history of afib they can turn it off. Ask to have the pacer interrogated and tell them the day/time it happened. They can tell right away if that's what it is. 

Another possibility is the heart is doing the sudden drops. I've had that too (I like to keep my techs on their toes lol). That can be programmed  around also, I believe the feature is called rate drop response (not to be confused with rate response which gets rate up on exertion). My rate goes down on its own slowly after a workout but if it drops too quickly, the pacer steps in and keeps it level. 

That was me exactly!!

by Queen50 - 2019-03-18 23:35:06

I had the same problem. My dr did a tread mill test and found out that when I hit 160 my pace maker kicked in and dropped me to 80. I was out of breath and dizzy. They raised me up to 180 and I’ve been great ever since. I think you might be at the out of the box settings. Keep talking they’ll figure it out. 

Thanks everyone

by Beaverrods77 - 2019-03-22 21:15:33

well I went and they put me at 175. We are in the process of moving and when I was loading the truck today it knocked me back to 60 two different times. This really sucks it’s going to take me forever to get this move done going to have to call next week and see what else they can do. It’s getting frustrating. 

You know you're wired when...

Your signature looks like an EKG.

Member Quotes

The pacer systems are really very reliable. The main problem is the incompetent programming of them. If yours is working well for you, get on with life and enjoy it. You probably are more at risk of problems with a valve job than the pacer.