scarried

my daughter has had her pace mker sence she was 11yrs old an now she is 15years old an we went to see the dr yesterday an they said she used it way to much.... more then they thought !omg!!.... she used about 75% of the battries they said that wasnt good but she has to see a specil dr. now on monday an i thinik she are ganna have to change it or do something else bevause it didnt last very long i am so scarried for my daughter.... does anyone no why the pacer didnt last so long ,do you think it because she is so young an it will not last as long for adults i have no idea but it really freaks me out ok thanks for being here it kinda helps to talk about it sometimes...bye for now

5 Comments

Short Battery Life

by SMITTY - 2008-06-20 10:06:51

Hello Michelle,

There are many reasons why your daughter's pacemaker battery could be consumed so rapidly. The literature says the average life of a battery is 5 to 7 years, so it is possible it is not being used up to rapidly. A pacemaker battery is being consumed continuously, however the greatest consumption comes when it is controlling the heart rate. Some of the reasons I can think of for a short battery life are:

1- Your daughter's heart is totally dependant on the pacemaker to keep it beating, therefore it is working 100% of the time. The reason for this can be any one of many and it is beyond me to even venture a guess.

2 - She would not normally be 100% dependant on the pacemaker, but because the low setting is too high the pacemaker is working all the time.

I'll use my experience to try to explain what I am thinking. When I got my pacemaker the settings were low 80 beats per minute and high 120 BPM. Since my heart's natural pacemaker would normally make my hear beat at a rate of about 55 to 65 BPM my pacemaker was working 100% to the time keep at 80 BPM. After a couple months these settings ere lowered to 60 to 110. With a low setting of 60 my pacemaker worked only 25% of the time. Over the years the settings have been changed several times, and are now at 70 to 110. This means the PM is now working about half the time and my battery which is now 8 years old and has an "expected remaining life" of 1.5 years.

3- For whatever reasons the resistance of the leads that carry the electrical impulse form the PM to the heart walls has increased over the years and it take takes a higher power setting to maintain the desired heart rhythm.

Those come to mind right now. I'm sure others can give more and better reasons for a reduced battery life.

I wish your daughter the best.

Smitty

pm life

by Coolhandlule - 2008-06-21 01:06:00

I am 20 years old and have had my pacemaker for yes... 20 years and I use it 80% of the time, mostly when im awake. My battery only lasts 3-4 years so don't be too worried =-)

PM's

by bini - 2008-06-21 12:06:37

I have a duel chamber PM that was installed last year. According to my last reading they said that I will have to get the battery change is 3 and 1/2 years. I wouldn't worry to much about it, each person's battery change time is different. I agree with everything smitty has said about the reasons behind the battery change.

Good luck,
Christine

PM life

by ju - 2008-06-23 12:06:06

Hi Michelle

I too was a young PM patient. I was 15 yrs old when I had my first one. I'm now about to have battery No.4. I'm 37 now....so that's 4 batteries in 22 yrs. Not as much as your daughter I know, but I do think the younger you are the quicker you use it up, purely because of being more active.

I strongly advise you speak to your pacing team. They are there to answer to your worries. There maybe a perfectly reasonable explantation.

I'm thinking of you
Ju

PM life

by shockbox340 - 2008-06-30 09:06:10

Barring some sort of component failure (which is EXTREMELY rare, believe it or not), battery life expectancy in a PM is totally dependant on use. How frequently the device has to pace, and how much energy the device has to emit with each pace (based on your 'thresholds'), plus how many of the fancy bells and whistles are turned on will determine the rate of battery drain. Turning all the 'extras' off can extend battery life some, but usually the benefits outweigh the minor reduction in time (less symptoms, more information for the doctor retrieved at checks, etc.). I can assure you that your child's age had no impact on how long that device lasted, except for the possibility that at 11 her normal heart rate may have been faster than it is now (our hearts beat faster the smaller we are).

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