Pacemaker and hot weather

Hi.  We live in Spain. My partner got his pacemaker 6 weeks ago and says he feels really well.  However, he has nearly collapsed 2 x recently and says its because of the heat and humidity here. He did recover quickly. He also has had hiccups 2x at night. First time just 2 his second time it was 4. Should I be worried? Should I inform our doctor?

2 Comments

Dehydrated

by AgentX86 - 2021-06-16 09:35:40

Drink a lot of water and (probably) magnesium supplements. Get his electrolytes checked.

The pacemaker may need to be adjusted.

by asully - 2021-06-16 13:56:23

I'm guessing that the heat and humidity are likely culprits for almost collapsing. Like AgentX said fluids, and have a doctor check his electrolytes.  The hiccups may be due to the leads stimulating his diaphragm.  I just went through 3 adjustments to stop my new leads from activating those muscles, and it did cause me bouts of hiccups.  Has he had abdominal muscle spasms that occur in certain positions? Mine would activate the most when bending at the waist and to my right side.  The pacer tech and I spent a bunch of time adjusting the settings to finally get a resolution of that bothersome problem.  At first it seemed like none of the settings were going to work, but they explained to me that it needed to heal and sort of "settle into place" then it would stop activating different zones.  It seems after several weeks it has done just that as I have had no symptoms since the last adjustment.  My recommendation is to contact you EP and cardiologist about both of the two concerns and see if they can help get to the bottom of the trouble.

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