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Medtronic ICDs
As i look around this site and a few others i have been on looks like medtronic makes junk. Im haveing a defibulatar put in on week from tuesday, I think i will contact my cardioligist and request he not put one of theirs in me. Am i seeing this right anyone have a commment on this. Please please let me know quick.
10 Comments
wrong words
by walkerd - 2008-09-08 02:09:56
i shouldnt have said junk. it just looks like they have a lot of recalls on things. its scarey enough haveing this stuff done and see all kinds of recalls and law suits. just wanted to know is all. sorry for saying it that way. poor choice of words.
AN EXAGERATION
by pete - 2008-09-08 03:09:54
Medtronic pacemakers are just as unreliable as other makes. No worse or better. But they are good and reliable. Some fail thats true but the manufacturers dont skimp on assembly quality or testing. Cheers pete
Saved my hubby's life
by scotter - 2008-09-08 03:09:55
All I can say his difib/pacemaker saved his life two weeks ago and I am grateful the NHS agreed to funding this for him.
Hi,
by Gellia2 - 2008-09-08 11:09:34
I think I would have to agree with Simon. I've had dual chamber Medtronics since 1982 and they've all been fine. I know they had a problem with a few models of leads, but haven't heard anything about the pacers themselves.
Mostly a doctor will fit the pacemaker to the patient. I, too, did not know what I got until my way out of the hospital.
I'm sure if you voice your concerns to your doctor, he will give you some input on it.
Best of luck to you!
Gellia
I hope not..
by ixdes - 2008-09-08 11:09:47
Don't know about their ICD's, but I have a Medtronic dual lead PM keeping me going, as I am sure do many others, so I certainly hope nat ALL they produce is junk. I didn't know what make I was having till I got my ID card on my way out of hospital.
I am sure that if you check across all other manufacturers they will all have a list of recalls and notifications with all their devices, leads etc. Plus I guess it is like everything else, unfortunately someone will end up with the one made on riday afternoon at the end of the shift. Unfortunately whenever a new product is designed, untill it is used in anger you never really know if it is going to do the job, so occasionally things go wrong. That's life. It just has bigger implications for things such as ICD's and PM's.
If you are really worried it may be worth a quick call to the cardiologist to see if they will tell you which make etc they intend to implant.
I am sure others will have different opinions, and you wil find people who have both bad and good experiences with medtronic.
Don't know if that helps.
All the best
Simon.
No problem here
by ElectricFrank - 2008-09-09 12:09:01
I've had a Medtronic for nearly 4 years now (how time flys) and have had no problem with the pacer or leads. Like any electronic device problems are possible and we should be happy they do a recall. A lot of the failures aren't due to the pacemaker, but rather due to poor implant techniques. In the Medtronic technical manual there is almost a full page of instructions on how to connect and secure the leads to the pacemaker. There are bold warnings about being sure the lead is all the way into its socket to prevent leakage of body fluids into it. Also, warnings about not over tightening the screws that hold the leads in place. The Medtronic engineer and I were talking about it and he mentioned how often the failed units returned to the factory had damage from ignoring these instructions.
Cabg Patch has it right about checking on the competence of the person doing your implant.
frank
lmao
by walkerd - 2008-09-23 08:09:07
well ive got a concerto c154dwk with three medtronic leads.. lets hear it for Medtronic.
Dave
Failure rates
by markjbaker - 2008-09-27 01:09:53
If you believe the lawyers, all PMs and ICDs are major risks. You can go to your manufacturer's website and download quality data which records actual failure rates, which shows the problems are much smaller than lawyers would have you believe. Recalls do happen and the numbers can be large, but companies have to be very very conservative about recalling potentially faulty goods, especially in the medical arena.
My suggestion is to be informed and find out as much as you can, but don't get anxious; because it is highly unlikely that your particular PM or ICD is going to be the one that fails. If you have any doubts ask your doctor, they are up to date with all the recall news.
BTW, INAL!
15 yr. old daughter saved...
by morgysmom - 2008-10-26 12:10:31
My daughter received her 1st pacemaker at age of eleven days after birth. It was a Medtronic. No problems. 2nd pacemaker implant was at 4 yrs. of age & it was a Medtronic. No problems. 3rd implant at age 8 -again Medtronic & no problems. They don't last as long in small children. My daughter was also VERY active & according to Drs. ran the batteries down a little sooner than most because of the activity. She played soccer, basketball, cheerleading, etc. Like I said VERY active & full of life!!! Plus, she has Bradycardia AND Cardiomyopathy.
She was always very tiny for her age - tended to be almost anorexic looking, due to the heart problems. At age 12, she only weighed 75 lbs., very small for a 7th grader. Her heart functioning began to deteriorate & Cardiologist was preparing to send us to St. Louis to have her evaluated for a heart transplant. The Drs. there told her Dr. to try one last thing before we put her on the list. They suggested a (at that time) relatively new device, which was a pacemaker/defibrillator/resyncronization device, also made by Medtronic. In fact, at that time, she was the youngest person ever to receive this particular device, according to her surgeon.
They implanted it in June of 2005. She turned 13 the next month. She could not believe how much better she could breathe and how much better she felt. She now had color in her cheeks & began to gain weight. She no longer looked like she was about to waste away. She is now 16 and weighs about 138 lbs., is 5'8' tall (taller than her mom) and is very active in her high school FFA chapter. She is the secretary for that club, & shows heifers, steers, lambs, & pigs, at every fair & livestock show that comes along. She loves animals & wants to be a veterinarian.
Last summer, we were preparing to go on a cruise for her 15th birthday. We were to leave the next morning, drive to Galveston, & get on a cruise ship for 5 days. Her friends & my cousin were at my house, sitting in the kitchen laughing & having fun. I was in my bedroom on the phone. I heard my cousin yell for me to come to the kitchen. I ran in to find Morgan on the floor. Her defibrillator had fired. When my cousin described what had happened, I knew it had fired. We spent a few days in the hospital. She is fine now & hasn't had any more episodes since. Our pacemaker nurse told me that the device had saved her life. Again, this was a Medtronic device. I am VERY thankful for Medtronic & her doctors, but, most of all, God, that I still have my precious daughter.
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New hot model ICD
by nrracing - 2008-09-08 02:09:50
I just got the new so called wireless ICD from med, i have not seen any problems and I have had mine for a bit over a month. Also they do not make junk. this is 2008 and things have improved greatly over the past. I have one and it is new and it seems to be working great.