Most Recent Messages in General Posting

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Increased usage

Had Medtronics for 13 months now. Went in for 6 month device check and hace appointment with cardiologist in 2 weeks. 
 

Technician said device was being used 44% in top chamber and 0% in lower. Last visit it was 33% so a fair sized increase. No real explanation other than "normal" resting rate may be lower than 60 bpm and maybe it's when I am asleep. 
 

I will ask my cardiologist but thought I would see if anyone has similar experience....

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Atrial Fib and Varicose Veins

Hi friends,

I'm 59 y.o and have had varicose veins for a long time.  So has my mother who is now 88.  I got a pacemaker in Feb 2020, Mom got one two years later.  We have also both had atrial fib to some degree.   Both varicose veins and atrial fib also run in our family more generally.  I was curious to know if there is any correlation, because apparently varicose veins form because the valves in the veins that are supposed to prevent blood f...

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Watchman

Has anyone had a .watchman implanted for afib. My .dr keeps pushing it 

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Panic Attack

It's been 3 weeks since my Pacemaker Procedure!! I'm trying to get used to it. Last night out of the blue I had a Huge Panic Attack!! I haven't had a Panic Attack in 5 years. I had low Heart rate for the last 5 years. So that Panic Attack was Brutal. Heart rate got up to 110. Took me 2 hours to calm down. Has anyone else ever had a Panic Attack fews weeks after Getting their Pacemaker??

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Pacemaker newbie

Hi all!  Just got my pacemaker 3 days ago.  I'm still processing this happened.  I'm 66 and a few months ago I had some slight dizzy issues and noticed walking uphill was causing shortness of breath.  Long story short, doc had all the usual tests done but NOT a EKG.  Everything was completely normal.  Then 2 weeks ago I got a Apple iwatch because I'm a type 1 diabetic (not juvenile, I was 38 when diagnosed) and I wanted to keep closer tabs on my gluco...

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new poll on arrhythmias

thanks to whomever started this new poll.

On the summary page from my  last remote transmission of June 20,2023, i had  1744 Atrial high rate  episodes.  And 1 venticular high rate episode.

new to pace

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Big increase in pacemaker dependency

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.

Yesterday at my 6 monthly check up I was told that my bottom chamber has gone from 15% pacing to 84% pacing in the space of 6 months.  Has anyone experienced anything similar or such a big jump in useage in a few months and what was the cause?

I have type 2 2nd degree heart block but my cardiologist thinks it may have progressed to 3rd. He took a whole of of bloods to check for any electrolyte imbalance, also kidneys, thyroid, liver...

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My story

Hi all, hope everybody is well. Recently my story was featured in an article for the Victor Chang Research Institute website. The institute is a leading cardiac facility based in Sydney, Australia. I am fortunate to have been treated by the executive director, Jason Kovacic. Their team were amazing and I felt like I was in the best hands possible. I'm the one in the hospital bed given the devil horns sign...LOL. 

https://www.victorchang.edu.au/real-life-stories

Cheer...

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Why are there no rechargeable pacemakers?

I understand that getting a new device every 10 years has benefits, and that there are other reasons to "open you up" like lead complications, but it still seems strange to me that there are no rechargeable pacemakers, or for that matter, pacemakers with longer battery lives.

Pacemakers have come down in size but don't necessarily last longer. Why are they not just slightly smaller but with a higher (let's say double) capacity?

Or for the case of rechargeable one...

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Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIENDLY PACEMAKER, TWELVE MONTHS OLD TODAY!!

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Another famous member

So, Mr Netanyuha joins the worldwide club of pacemaker users.

Not much information on why, but apparently he had a problem recently and had some sort of monitor fitted. According to the news, he had become dehydrated from sitting in the sun too long.

When the monitor alerted him to the fact that something was wrong, he was whipped in and now belongs to our exclusive group.

Get well soon.

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Home monitor NOT transmitting for almost a year!

Hello,  I received a Patient Portal message a few days ago stating they did not receive my transmission.  I was out of town and had forgotten to plug it in when I got to the hotel. I assumed when I plugged it in, it would send that night.  I sent a message back apologizing for not plugging it in!  I called the company the next day to see if they could verify it for me.

When I called, I was told they have not received a transmission since August, 2022!!  I w...

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Been about 9 years, probably due for a replacement soon--upgrade?

Checking back on my calendar, I've had my pacemaker for about nine years. I lost my regular cardiologist two years ago and am going in for my first checkup since then. Last time it looked like I had about another 2-3 years on the battery, so I'm assuming that I need to start thinking about getting it replaced. My question is, are there any newer models out that I should push for? I currently have a Medtronic Advisa MRS SureScan.

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26yo recommended pacemaker

Hello,

I am 26yo with Long Q T syndrome. Diagnosed as a child and medicated since. I have had few issues since being medicated (some side effects from beta blockers and low blood pressure), but for the last 10 years I have just got on with life and haven't thought much about my heart condition. Until Monday when I went into cardiac arrest and have been in the hospital since. My cardiologist has recommended that I have a pacemaker fitted, a conversation that had come up in the past b...

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The twitch when pacing, what is it?

I've recently been fitted with a pacemaker for an intermittent AV block and posted elsewhere about the sensation of being paced which I would describe as a twitch in the chest area.
 

Now that I've had some time to get used to it and understand what it is, it no longer freaks me out and is almost reassuring as it sugygeststhat everything is still hooked up and working.
 

As I have an intermittent block, this only happens occasionally, sometimes isolated...

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NSVT

Just for interest, I captured what I think is an occurrence of NSVT on my Kardia Mobile 6L a couple of days ago, which I've posted on the Member's Gallery.  I only knew that I had them from my last pacemaker interrogation, which showed one since the interrogation before that. Since I captured one, my assumption is that they're quite a bit more frequent than one every three months.  Or my pacemaker's detection algorithms are junk, which I've been suspecting for so...

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New specialist

Hi Everyone. Have an update:  Met with an extraction specialist who actually listened.  The associate was horrified by my story and I did not share everything.  The new Dr saw right away what was happening, especially with the electricity.  I'm still pacing at less than .01% long term.  What happened to me was a nightmare. 

Here's the new plan of action:

1. 7 day bardy test

2. Turned off upper lead (already feel better)

3.  Tu...

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pacemaker extraction

Hello to all, I hope all is well and summers enjoyable, I've been on a somewhat haitus feeling a little discouraged because back on Feb, March , April i had a small case of paroxysmal afib which really didnt help my mental state but i got through it and saw an EP in boston who said i would be a perfect candidate for an ablation. He has done over a 1,000 ablations all with great results. He also to my surprise, told me that because i was pacing at a minimal that he wanted to remove my pace...

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Which drink is best for hydration? Hint: It isn’t water

There was just a brief discussion on this topic in the previous couple of days. I thought that some may find this interesting (copy and paste the link in your browser):

Which drink is best for hydration? Hint: It isn’t water

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/health/best-drinks-for-hydration-wellness/index.html?iid=fw_var-reg-hp-9

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Significant Heat in Southern Europe

With holiday season upon us and warnings of extreme heat in southern Europe - (Italy - 45 degrees celsius) - I wanted to check out heat related symptoms I've had in the past in very high temperatures - mainly puffy ankles and swollen fingers when walking around in the heat. 

 I had neither of these symptoms in the heat prior to receiving a PM. 

My question is whether this type of swelling is normal or heart related and IF it is card...

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You know you're wired when...

You play MP3 files on your pacer.

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