my new replacement

my name s George G  live in Melbourne Australia have actually been a pacemaker club member since around 2007 when I had my fist pacemaker implant St Judes however even tho havent logged back in for a long while I had serious problems logging back in it simply wouldn`t allow me? even tho I have the corect email and password that i`ve had for since circa 2007 but still stated i had wrong password or email? so i finally gave up and rejoined as a new member actually re using my original password and same email that i had all along! it`s sad in a way because i`ve had a lot of help and support when i first joined up in particular one member whom i heard has passed away unfortunately name Electric Frank such a lovely caring person. God bless him he really gave lots of help information and support!

back in 2007 I had my first Pacemaker inplant ST Judes following having done a Holter Moniter test at the age of 58 results showed Sinus rhythm/sinus arrhythamia with first degree AV block and 2;1 second degree AV block -bundle branch block pattern noted

I have a permanent transvenous implant located on my left infero-clavicular region and associated with a dual pacing wire to the right ventricle and right atrium (actually don`t really comprehend what I`ve got in me!!!! too technical for me only copying what my heart specialist has written down!) I had my second replacement in 2018 (Boston Scientific)  and apparently needs replacing next year only has only 18months left battery usage! as I found out today having my yearly check up visit !

today was a really bad day because on my way to see my heart specialist yearly visit took me over 2and half hours by car and traffic was just awful and when I got to see him took my BP which has been ok when I check it at home average 135 over 70 however at the clinic my heart specialist it went up to 187 over 105 of my God couldnt believe it??? only explanation according to my specialist whitecoat syndrome and stress over driving traffic!!!!! need to ask you is that out of the ordinary what happened to me???

also what I please wish to know hope someone can give me the right answer?  I asked my heart specialist whch Pacemaker are they going to give me next year? seeing the second one they gave me which is the one I have now is Boston Scientific  I had not say in it  they said at the time you get what they give you beeing a pensioner!!! I asked my heart specialist today during my visit do I have a say to which one I prefer for the next one next year?? he asked which one do I have in mind? well really dont have a clue thats why writing this post maybe someone could give me a suggestion?

I am  also prepared to  pay a bit extra?? considering NOT too happy with the Boston Scientific only had it since 2018 next year 2025 makes it only lasted 7 years? my first one ST Judes was a bit smaller and lasted over 11 years!

  I hope there are better ones out there but dont know which one? hope someone can suggest which one I could ask for?? I sincerely hope I get some reply? it was pretty ennoying cant understand the reason why I couldnt log back in and had to re join as a new member, never mind glad I managed to rejoin sad in a way because that meand I lost all my precious correspondances I had since I joined in!!!  never mind happy that I still managed to rejoin so I could write in this post message  and many thanks to all in advance 

regards George G

5 Comments

white coat syndrome

by Tracey_E - 2024-03-19 09:30:51

White coat syndrome is real!! My numbers are always high at a doctor's office, perfectly normal at home. 

What don't you like about the Boston? Abbott bought out St Jude. Medtronic is probably the most used. The best brand depends on what your needs are. For av block, they all work about the same. 

If this one has a shorter life, it might be the condition of your heart (using it more with age) or your leads (as they age, they may need more power to get the signal through)  more so than the quality of the battery. 

I'm a moderator. For safety reasons, I'm going to edit your post to remove you phone number. We mostly keep the spammers under control, but sometimes they keep us on our toes.

More information needed

by crustyg - 2024-03-19 13:42:36

As far as battery life is concerned, I think you're mistaken that the shorter life was only because of a change of brand.

Boston Scientific make a number of PMs with Extended Life (==bigger battery) and these can easily last 15-16years.  I know, I have one.

Your EP-doc has asked a good question: which PM do you have in mind?  If you don't have one in mind, then perhaps the only thing that matters to you is battery life. Ask your EP-doc if you can get the latest revision of your first device.

There have been some threads here discussing pros and cons of replacing implanted devices every 7-8years versus every 14-15years.  A lot depends on what you want out of a device *and* your previous experience of box swap(s).  If previous box swaps were difficult and painful then I can easily understand the desire for a very long device life.

adding on to crusty's thoughts

by Tracey_E - 2024-03-19 17:35:53

In this age of rapid improvements in technology, I'm not sure I would even want one that lasts longer than 8-10 years. I'm on my 5th, about to get #6 later this year, and the one I have now does so much more than my first one. Getting a replacement is never fun, but the silver lining is the latest technology. 

My new replacement

by gg - 2024-03-19 19:25:34

thanks to everyone replying to my post message! may God bless Pacemaker Club ! where would one be without it? and May God Bless also Electric Frank RIP I recall following having my first implant st Judes in 2007 had major serious issues with my pulse rate beat per minute it was going crazy, as I said thanks to Electric Frank who came to my rescue explaining it all in full details ( kept and saved his response in a safe file place a very important fully detailed what my problem may have possibly been all that was needed to turn off my rate response and yes that turned out to be the cause of my problem! thanks to Electric Frank suggestion it fixed that problem! again God bless you Frank and God bless Pacemaker Club without it`s excistence none of this would have been possible!

regards GG

gg

by piglet22 - 2024-03-20 07:31:42

I don't think I've ever had a BP result in a clinical setting that has been 'normal'

Usually high, though in longer stays, it does fall back to a better 130/80.

There's a bit of a feedback loop going on

 The last one was high so you worry that this one will be too and sure enough it is.

Just getting to appointments now can be stressful.

I don't think I would want a long lifetime device either.

My existing Medtronic doesn't have Bluetooth so I miss out on more active monitoring. Given the personal circumstances, anything that communicates better is a bonus.

There has been an extraordinary growth in miniaturisation in electronic components mainly driven by mobile phone technology and so-called wearables.

The real advantages are in the sheer computing power available in processor chips and if there's one area that can benefit, it has to be in heart devices.

Of course other areas like sensory and monitoring will benefit too and possibly more patient focused devices will take the pressure off the struggling health services.

As for choosing a PM, it's usually out of my hands and just as well as long as it's not a factory refurbished one.

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