I finally had my pace maker put in a week ago

I am 61 years old and my heart rate when I was younger was 44  and has been 30 since I Turned 40.   I did have some dizzyness when I was mid thirtys.   Almost no symptoms in the last 10 years.  So why did I do it?   Well I learned my heart rate when I sleep is 21 and was 28 at my last check up with the Cardiologist.   He said I could pass out driving or on a ladder.   I was told i would most likely feel better.   Well  I don't feel any different since the prcedure but I hope in time I will.  I guess during the operation i went into Afib 3 times and had to be defibulated.  They ended up turning off the lower lead.  I hope I did the right thing as if I go into Afib again they recommend blood thinners the rest of my life.   So thats my story and now i look forward to playing golf in another 5 weeks.

 

Arnold

3 Comments

Welcome!

by Lavender - 2022-07-10 23:18:18

I know that you posted a while back as you pondered this move. I'm wondering if you notice the faster heart beat? I had a slow poke heart. When the pacemaker was put in, it took me a good while to get used to the faster beat. I kept saying I felt like I had a pot of coffee. I'm still feeling energized but more used to the beat now. 

Yes welcome

by Gemita - 2022-07-11 06:12:47

Arnold,

A Heart rate of 30 bpm since 40 yrs of age beggars belief.  You would appear to have been extremely lucky to have coped for so long without experiencing major symptoms.  You most certainly needed a pacemaker in my opinion to prevent sudden collapse.  

It sounds as though you need to speak to your doctors about your concerns and I would want to understand why they turned off the lower lead so soon after implantation?

I am not surprised you don't feel any different so soon after your procedure.  It may take a little time to notice any benefits, particularly since you tell us you were symptom free before implantation.  Arrhythmias like AFib can be triggered by any stressful event and an implant procedure is a stress for many of us.  Hopefully any rhythm disturbances like AFib will quickly resolve as you heal and you will not need life long anticoagulation.  My heart rhythm was very disturbed immediately following implant surgery and took several months to settle.  

Would you care to share with us your new pacemaker details, like manufacturer, number of leads implanted and to fill in your Bio?  Good luck and enjoy your golf when you have recovered.

A-paced only as well

by crustyg - 2022-07-11 08:16:11

When implanted 3yr ago I had both leads active but the RV lead is so low down that the A=>V delay made it impossible to have a maxHR >145BPM.  My EP-doc and I debated this, and I was set to AAIR - max HR now 165BPM, lower limit 50BPM.  At implantation my resting HR was about 40BPM, but a year ago it was 28BPM.  I could walk around, lie down, sit up, but that's all.  Without the PM I had to grab the banister rail at the top of a single flight of stairs to avoid falling over.  Felt better immediately after implantation - junctional beats (what was keeping me alive) produce a lot less blood flow than normal beats that have A=>V contraction - reduced V-filling.

Two long episodes of AFlut, 2* ablations and so far, so good.  There is *some* evidence that keeping the RA driven reduces the risk of AF, which would make sense given the current thinking about the root cause of AFib in patients with very low resting HR (<40BPM), so *perhaps* the PM is pacing us out of developing an atrial tachyarrhythmia.  Not currently anti-coag'd - but also still young!

Best wishes.

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