Pacemakers in General

Reading through the messages today there is a vast amount of people suffering problems after receiving PM.

Are PM's dangerous? Do they cause heart problems?

Anyone have the knowledge to put my mind at rest.

6 Comments

Thanks

by Jules - 2008-02-03 01:02:55

Hey your comments are always good. Thanks. I must say I really get nervous at the comments that come on sometimes.

Hearing your experience is good and young as well.

Thanks

Hi Jules,

by Gellia2 - 2008-02-03 02:02:03

Jules, I've had a pacemaker for over 32 years. I am 100% dependent due to third degree heart block and pace the right ventricle all the time. So far (knock on wood), I have had none of the problems of long term right ventricle pacing. I have had my share of pacer problems, yes, numerous ones, but each time they have been diagnosed and handled swiftly by the medical team that takes cares for me.
Point is, many of us pacemaker recipients have very few serious problems with their pacemakers that some simple adjustments can't handle, with persistence. Most of us are happy we have them and our lives have been both saved and enriched by them. If you take care of it, it will take care of you.
Time is a great healer in so many ways. I hardly pay any attention to my pacer now except for check ups. It hasn't curtailed my life in any way. I have traveled with it, ridden horseback, gone camping and hiking, swam, went on Disney rides and raised a family. Things will get better.
Hang in there. Remember to take the time to relax and be with NO FEAR.
Gellia

Sometimes I wish

by Peter.Nash - 2008-02-03 02:02:58

I have read so many postings and comments on this site.....about pacers having such a great improvement in their life due to having a pacemaker....just today look at ela-girl heckboy...I makes me wish I could change my ICD for a pacemaker and I could feel some benefit to my health it would be great to be able to walk to the corner shop never mind climbing mountains and hiking~~~~~~love your pacemaker I say~~~~~~~~~~
just my thoughts if it helps any.
Peter.N

Side effects

by ElectricFrank - 2008-02-03 06:02:04

Keep in mind that we have pacers because we have a heart problem. Like any treatment there are potential side effects, but if we really need the pacer then the side effects outweigh the alternative. The only damage I am aware of is the possible slow changes that can take place at the sites where the lead wires are inserted into the heart. It is possible to develop and infection or reaction to a foreign material, but these are very rare. There also can be a reaction to the electrical stimulation over time. This is more likely with high pacing voltages, and is a good reason to be sure they are set correctly.
I mention these only because they are possibilities, not because they are likely. All I need to do is consider a life with a HR of 30 and what that would do not only to my heart, but other organs of my body.

frank

Problems happen!

by tcrabtree85 - 2008-02-03 08:02:51

I have had problems ever since I received my pacemaker. I look at it this way I would have had more problems without it I would not be alive. My problems do result from having a heart not working correctly but I don't believe I could ever blame it on the pacemaker itself. My problems result from the amount of surgeries. I think that no matter what at some point we all have had problems and for some of us it takes longer to heal.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't stress over what somebody else faces because likely it has to do with other problems not just the pacemaker. At some points though you may have setting issues and what not but thats not something to stress over that will happen occasionally. I look at my pacer like I look at my computer. My computer acts up occasionally got to fix the tech stuff on it and life goes on.
No worries my friend "listen to the Lion King song". Life is way to short and worry about the problems that can happen and enjoy where you are now and what is in your future.
Blessings,
Tammy

Better than...?

by heckboy - 2008-02-03 11:02:50

Hi,

I'm not an expert, but I know that the more a heart paces, the more reliant it becomes on the PM. I like the idea of a PM stimulating one's natural electrical system instead of bypassing it and that seems to be where things are going. Maybe they'll have that worked out by the time I need my next PM.

My quality of life is so much better with my PM than it would be without it. Without it, I couldn't play basketball with my son or climb a flight of stairs. I'm a relatively young, healthy active guy at 45. My PM gave me all that back.

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My ICD/pacer is not a burden. I still play tennis and golf.