Heart Function Drop

• by stormynw
• 2020-11-04 02:52:00
• General Posting
• 815 views
• 4 comments

It's been a while since I last posted. Quick bio: female 63. Never smoked, rarely drink. I have had SOB since before getting my dual-chamber pacemaker (Biotronik) back in 2014. And even after the pacemaer the SOB never really went away. Fast forward to 3 weeks ago on October 13th when after having a cough for well over a year and SOB that has been getting significantly worse I went in to see my cardiologist. He said that my heart function had dropped from 57% last April (18 months ago) to 47%. My pacemaker is pacing 100% in the right ventricle and he said he wanted me to see a cardiac electrophysiologist to find out if I was a candidate for a biventricular pacemaker. I saw the EP last week and he said as he was looking at my echo that my EF was actually lower than 47% but for some reason I didn't ask him what it was, perhaps I didn't want to know ;) Anyway, the EP said he thought that I would benefit from a CRT-P. So, now I'm just waiting for the date sometime in the next two weeks. I was surprised when he said he didn't think the cough was related but I actually have an appointment with my pulmonologist on the 18th (unless they scedule my surgery for that day) I know I need to lose weight and actually have lost almost 6 pounds since Oct. 13th.But have a ways to go. 
I have also been under an ungodly amount of stress since back in Jan 2019 when my little sister had a brain aneurysm burst and that was followed by a massive stroke which left her cortically blind. She was then literally stuck in Harborview Medical/Trauma center for 11 months. Even though she is married I became her legal guardian as her husband was completely overwhelmed by taking care of their 11-year old daughter as well as their two teenage sons and running their own small business which my sister used to help run.

I was making a 2-1/2 hour trip plus a 1/2 hour ferry ride each way 1-2 times a week sometimes more for most of that time although the first 4-5 weeks I stayed at the hospital almost round the clock except for running home to take a test or attend class. (I was in my last quarter of school) I earned an A.A.S. in Homeland Security and Emergency Management and somehow even with all that was going on with my sister and losing my mother during my first year I still managed to graduate with honors at the age of 62. Anyway, I can't help but think that the stress plus the additional weight gain over thatr period of time impacted my heart. 

I'm a little nervous about the procedure because after the first implant one of the leads was in the wrong position and was firing against a nerve so they went in to reposition it and my surgeon told me that my heart went into V-tach 3 times and they let it rest in between but the third time they ended up pulling the lead completely out and waiting for about 30 minutes before completing the procedure. Following that I ended up in the local ER 5 times and finally went to a major hospital 2-1/2 + hours away in Seattle where they immediately determined I had pericarditis. So... yeah I'm concerned. But I now have an excellent cardiologist who is only an hour away so I have to trust him and the EP. 

Wow! My apologies I didn't mean to write a novel. :) If anyone out there has gone from a
dual-chamber to CRT-P I'd appreciate any words of wisdom you might have.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.