i need some advice

hello i'm new at this i need some addvice i don't know what to do i have a defibutaer and pacemaker in 2005 my heat percent was 15% now it is 40% thursday nite i took a shower and when i got out my pacemaker went off 8 times was rushed to hospital by ambulance everything was fine they said had a heart doctor going to be there on friday morning so i went to see him and my equipment went off 3 more times so the doctor put a magnet on it to stop the shocks and sent me to blgh in lincoln nebraska said there was a malfunction in the device so after alot of test they done it was determined a wire was broke that is why i was getting shocked
the doctor then told me that i can either fix it or have it taken out since my heart has inproved so much or we can just leave it in there forever it is shut off right now has any one ever heard of anyone getting there equipment removed i do not know what to do im going to go and see my family docter and my heart docter and anoter heart doctor for advice or should i get it fixed and keep it for safe keeping they said all the operations have risks help me thank you


4 Comments

Advice

by SMITTY - 2007-10-14 01:10:41

Helo Husker,

Welcome to the PM Club.

Now first things first, if the pacemaker is broken it can not be fixed. A broken PM must be replaced. If the only problem is a broken lead that can be replaced without removing the pacemaker and is less serious surgery than replaceing a PM, usually.

While mine has not been removed, I did have a doctor offer to remove mine because of problems I was having with the thing about 3 or 4 years ago. I did not need it then, but to avoid the surgery, I elected to keep mine. This year I was prescribed some medicine that slowed my heart rate so much that I need the PM about 90% of the time. So as you can guess I'm very gad I didn't have it removed when that was offered.

As for what you should do, I say see the other doctors as you plan to do and follow their advice. But as for keeping it for the future --- well I'll not give any advice on that either, other than say do what your doctors recommend.

I wish you the best.

Smitty

huskers

by luckyloo - 2007-10-14 08:10:09

dear huskers,

are you saying you don't need your device at all or you don't need the old lead? i am assuming you have a defibrillator with the pacemaker function turned on because you talk about shocks.

if it's an old lead:

some EPs recommend removing old leads especially if you are young to avoid crowding the veins with numerous leads. it is very risky surgery though. they use lasers. the best time to remove a lead is when you are having a new one put in. you MUST have your leads removed by an experienced EP!!!!! go to a place where they do hundreds even thousands...like cleveland clinic, ohio state (dr. love). replacing the actual device (the battery) is much easier than a lead. with every surgery, risk of infection goes up.

some EPs will say leave the old lead in. i have an old lead in and i've had 2 say keep it in and 2 say it must come out. i am 44. i am due for a device change soon and will be faced with this same decision. your dr. can do a venogram to include the SVC to see if there is a crowding issue with your veins.

i need some advice

by huskersnb2 - 2007-10-16 07:10:57

right now the device is shut off becuase after i got shocked 11 times they sent my to the doctor who put it in me after review off the test the doctor had it shut off he said i really dont need it since my heart has recovered so well my injury was caused by a bllod clot in my heart. no it is all over the news and internet about a broken wire in these devices they say 1% of these had the bad wire my pm is model number 6949 i am one of the lucky ones who has the bad one
so now i dont know what to do I was going to get it fixed and and keep it there for safe keeping but now i don't know what to do any help on this either way it is risky fix it replace it or take it out may god be with us all duane

ICD leads

by papaknight - 2007-12-08 06:12:13

So sorry to hear of your problems. I have had aN ICD since 2002 and the only time I ever neededit it failed. I have a new ICD and the old lead was left in. I have changed cardioligist and have been lucky to find a group that seems to be really up on all and communicates well with us. I would suggest that you try to find a new group that will do the same for you. The bad thing is that the manufacturers reps seem to have so much control over what is said and done thaqt you cannot really trust anyone. Do your homework and try to learn as much as you can about whats going on and make use of this site to get the opinions of others who have ben through it butyou still must make your own decisions about your care. My new lead is also teh 6949 but I have had no problems{that I know of} with it yet.I am going to see the cardiologist that put it in soon and have a list of questions for him. I know these things have saved many lives but that doesnt help you when yours fails. I think that they should have to furnish everyone that has a recalled ICD, lead, PM or whatever with an external defibrillator and we are trying to addresss this in our litigation with the manufacturer of our first unit. I'll let you know how that goes. Best of luck to you sorting through all the information and I hope your health continues to improve.Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have but remember I'm just a person in the same boat as you but my kids havemedical backgrounds and have tried to stay on top of it all for me so if we can help, we'd be glad to.
papaknight

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