arrythmia with a pacemaker

Had a DD pacemaker fitted last summer due to SS . It is set at 60.. It took a few months to settle down, had 5-10 minutes AF occasionally. So for the last 8 months its been great no problem.

One evening 3 weeks ago on a ship , felt my heart go into overdrive. Luckily the doctor was on call and I was in the medical room within about 5 minutes. .Heart rate was 160+, I was on a drip for 2 hours . Seemed fine for the next 2 weeks . However all this week its been less than 60.( 50-59.) The problem is that I can feel its not right its irregular . missing or pausing beats . I'm waiting for a consultant appointment,. but that could be months . Am i panicking unnecessarily. 

Anyone had this happen with a pacemaker. Any advice very welcome x  

  Up date.. Thank you for the advice, agentx86 and athena 123 ,  I will go get the magnesium taurate. 

2 Comments

AF

by AgentX86 - 2022-07-02 20:13:41

Pacemakers can't do anything about AF or any tachycardia.  They're accelerators, not brakes. Your pacemaker will take care of your SSS, which may let your doctor increase bet blockers or antiarrhythmics to try to control your arrhythmia but this is often a short-medium term solution.  Beta blockers might help but antiarrhythmics are toxic and some turn proarrhythmic at some point (bad and bad).

If you're getting missing beats or pausing beats, you really aren't.  This is a common issue with us folk here.  They're PVCs (Pre-Ventricular Contractions) and while can feel like hell, they're almost always benign.

Really, what's happening is that this PVC happens right after a normal beat so the atrium doesn't have time to refill before the next (paced or normal)  beat so it feels like the beat is skipped.  It's not, just not a full beat. Since it's not a full beat, your blood isn't circulating as well as it should and you can get a very fast dip in blood pressure.  This can feel bad but unless it's a high percentage of beats (%30) it's not generally a problem. You can feel the missing little beats by feeling your heartbeat in your neck (carotid artery).  Your radial artery (wrist) is too small for the small beats to be felt.

To try to minimize the problem, drink a lot of water.  You can try a magnesium suppliment (NOT magnasium oxide).  Magnesium, sodium, and potassium are critical for proper nerve function.  Potassium isn't often the probem but it's possible. If it is, you probably shoud see your PCP. It's harder to sumpliment but bananas are good. Sodium deficiancy is exceegingly rare, particularly with a Western diet.  The probem is exactly the opposite.  Magnesium is most often the problem and the hardest to overdo.  It's harder to come by naturally but easy to suppliemet.  I take 400mg of magnesium taurate a day.  Not only did it get rid of some nasty (bigeminal) PVCs but my leg cramps went away at the same time. You can try it.  It might work, might not but there is little danger in trying.

I've been having some PVCs lately.  Looking up the magnesium I bought this time, it is magnesium oxide.  It's useless for anything other than painting one one's nose as a sunscreen or as a laxitive (milk of magnesia).  I'll order more taurate as soon as I'm finished here.

PVCS

by athena123 - 2022-07-03 15:40:46

Hi, agent x86 is right on the money with pvcs. They feel frightening but they are most always benign. You are just aware of your heart beats and sometimes that gives us a bit of anxiety. Magnesium is fantastic and should be a big help. 

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