Survey

You ask a very good question

by Gemita - 2023-02-17 01:47:02

Bly, when I first saw your headline message Survey I wondered which survey you were referring to since there have been many surveys produced here.

With the current Survey (Poll) running "How often are you paced", you can get this information by asking your Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist or a pacemaker clinic technician during routine hospital checks or at any time by phone.  You may also be able to see this information on any records you receive from your pacemaker clinic.  For example, mine are shown as AP % (atrial pacing %) and VP % (ventricular pacing %).   Whenever they check our pacemakers they can see the amount of time that we are being paced in each chamber of the heart.

We don't all have single lead pacemakers as you may know, some of us have two or more leads, so our pacemaker clinic can confirm the actual percentage time we pace in each chamber if you ask them.  Some of us are totally dependent on our pacemakers and pace 100% in either the bottom or top chambers.  I am paced for example 100% in my top chamber (right atrium) with around 7% of pacing in the bottom chamber (right ventricle), but these percentages can change depending on my Settings, heart condition and on any other health problems I may develop.

Our doctors are always interested to know the percentage time we are paced, so they can look for any causes for increased pacing requirements and treat these if they need to with medication, pacemaker settings changes or with other treatments.  But any pacing percentage can be okay and normal, providing we feel well, so don't worry about those figures too much.

In hindsight, I suppose our Survey (Poll) question is not so straightforward to answer unless (1) we know where to find this information and (2) we know the percentage time we are being paced in each of our chambers, so thank you for asking

interrogation report

by Tracey_E - 2023-02-17 10:14:49

It will be in the interrogation report. You can ask for a copy. 

survey

by Bly - 2023-02-17 10:15:33

Thanks for your explanation. I looked all over the phone app that my Medtronic PM is linked to and couldn't find that information. Now I understand.  I'm new at this thing.

app

by Tracey_E - 2023-02-18 14:40:37

I don't have medtronic so don't have the app, but it should be in there! Hopefully someone with the same can tell you where to find it. But it's also in the report your doctor will have!

Tracey/Bly

by Gemita - 2023-02-18 16:13:29

Tracey, I have a Medtronic MCL (My Care Link) Smart App downloaded on my iPhone 7+ and percentage pacing info is certainly not available there?  Perhaps my American friends can tell us what is available to view in their Medtronic Apps?

Bly, since you live in Florida, you should have better access to your pacemaker records than I am getting here in the UK, where some of us have to formally request details of our Settings and other pacemaker data.  I would just ring your pacemaker clinic and simply ask:-

the percentage time you are paced in your Right Atrium? 

the percentage time you are paced in your Right Ventricle?

In due time, you can request a copy of all your pacemaker settings and ensure that you will receive regular updates of all your pacing checks.  I usually ask for a summary sheet once a year and it takes months to receive it!  Good luck

survey

by Bly - 2023-02-18 16:45:03

Thanks for all the responses. I've learned a lot in a very short time from this fourum.  Most appreciated.  I've only had the PM for three weeks so I'm completely new at this. When I see my doctor I intend to respectfully suggest that patients be provided with more information in the future as opposed to just being told "you need a pacemaker". Things such has you probably will have some discomfort in the shoulder and arm on the side we implant the PM as well as some other possible issues. I think that would avoid a lot of patient anxiety when they feel something unusual after implant.