Does having a pacemaker reduce/stop dizziness and breathlessness

Hi, I was hoping to get feedback from anyone who has persistent Afid and has had a CRT pacemaker. Currently I do not have a pacemaker but my Afid is getting worse. It has caused my EF to go down to 34% last year. Since then my new meds have managed to get my EF up to 38%. The down side is that the new meds are making me more dizzy (ie getting up too fast or bending down) and more breathless when I go on my daily walk (I suspect the low blood pressure due to the meds is responsible). My question is will a CRT pacemaker stop the dizziness and breathlessness or should I put off getting a pacemaker as long as possible and put up with the dizziness/breathlessness?

4 Comments

Pacemakers and Afib

by LondonAndy - 2022-04-03 13:34:49

Well, Atrial Fibrilation is where the heart muscles "flutter", and so are not effective pumps for getting the blood around the body.  Presumably this is the cause of your low ejection fraction? Or do you have other heart issues too, eg a low heart rate? depeneding on your level of fitness, a rate below 50BPM can be a problem - the actual number varies a lot.

You will feel faint when standing up etc if your blood pressure (BP) is low. So if the medication you have been prescribed affected BP, perhaps a beta blocker, then that is likley to explain the dizziness.

Pacemakers don't help reduce heart flutter. Instead, they provide a "safety net" of a minimum heart rate that is safe. However, a pacemaker may be part of a larger solution, eg have they said you would have an ablation, or other surgery that can help Afib and then that can require a pacemaker to compensate?

Finally, if you are feeling dizzy be sure you are drinking enough fluids. Dehyrdation is a surprisingly powerful spanner to throw into the works, and you don't have to feel thirsty to be dehydrated. Also, do you monitor your blood pressure at home?  If not, get a meter - they are not expensive, and having facts to give your doctor, particularly readings taken at the time you feel dizzy, is useful for their diagnosing. 

CRT Pacemaker

by Good Dog - 2022-04-03 15:35:02

I think LondonAndy was right on the money with everything he provided. It is important to recognize the need to stay hydrated as we get older and especially with a low EF. I do not have Afib or a CRT, but to answer your question; yes, a CRT should make you feel much better and will likely increase your EF. It is important to know that a CRT is a three wire pacemaker that syncronizes the right and left sides of your heart to make it pump more efficiently. It generally increases your EF by 5% to 10% and sometimes much more than that. 

I hope this helps.

I wish you the best,

Dave

CRT

by Julros - 2022-04-03 23:56:44

There is a chance that CRT may improve your symptoms; most do see an improvement in EF, although some do not. From my own experience, I was on no meds prior to my ablation and CRT, because meds are not usually effective for atrial flutter. But I did get short of breath with minimal exertion, and most definitely when bending over. That did go away after implantation, in my case. And my EF improved from 50 to 55%. 

CRT pacemaker

by Rick11 - 2022-04-05 08:07:15

Thank you for all your feedback. My problem is very fast heart rate with a totally out of sync rhythm. Finding meds to keep it under control is proving difficult and gives me the side affects of fatigue, dizziness and breathlessness. Reading about the AV node ablation and CRT pacemaker is different to actually hearing from someone who has gone through the procedure and is living with it. Thank you for sharing your experience. 

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