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3 lead

I went from a two lead PM to a three lead about 2 years ago. No problem. They have to add the third lead, and replace the PM with a three lead unit. Felt a lot better after.

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Forgive me, but I need to post this.

I'm wondering why, when legitimate pacemaker/ ICD questions are asked, hardly any replies are made; but when someone posts a sob story, everyone rallies around that, and replies pour in?
Wasn't this site created to help inform and support pacemaker and ICD recipients? The key word here being RECIPIENTS.
Often times, one person gets all the support, at the expense of informative replies to all other legitimate members with important questions.
The comments ratio on several posts pr...

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chat room

Any one up for chatting? 9am in saskatchewan.

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Welding with Pacer

Hi all. I tried welding today. I had my pacer installed in Nov 07 and had not tried any welding since. It went great. I welded at arms length (pretty shakey though) and no interfence at all.
Just thought I would let anyone who was curious know.
John S

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alaska

hi we are going to take the alaskan cruise from seattle on the 19th. as we are canadian we will fly from seattle and end up in victoria and of course will take the double bus to tour victoria and to have tea at the famous victoria hotel empress something or other. has anyone else ever gone and are there any suggestions as to what things to see. there are skads of them to pick from and we want to do something each day but not a lot of walking right now for my husband. so any suggestions would be...

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What about sex?

Thank you for the FAQ's. It addresses most of my initial concerns and questions. I received my pacemaker less than a week ago. One issue I missed has to do with sex. Is this a concern? Do I need to wait a while for sex or is that even an issue? I didn't have restrictions before the pacemaker was installed. Will I now?

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baseball

I "make" my son (12) wear a chest protector (heart guard) when he plays baseball (hardball). Do you know if it is actually necessary? He did get hit last year and we all heard the clunk so were pleased he was wearing it. It is uncomfortable and doesn't stay in place. He is a trooper. Any suggestions?
mechanicalme's mom

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Help us start a List!

Ok. Many members have been asking about all those initials and abbreviations that are always floating around this web site being used like they are common vernacular. SO...I suggest we help each other out and post what we know so that reading posts will be easier (and maybe we'll all get a little bit smarter in the process)! :) I'll even start!

VVS = vasovagal syncope
NCS = neurocardiogenic syncope
SCD = sudden cardiac death
BPM = beats per minute

Now it...

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EP visit

ela-girl and randrews, you asked me to keep you posted on the EP visit. I can't seem to get the private messages working so I will post here. Visit went well, the ep says I have VVS. He is taking me off all meds and he raised my bpm to 70 (was 55)for now. I keep getting light headed or dizzy episodes caused by v v s and he feels that by raising the bpm that will help get me away from them. When I have not had any for awhile he will start lowering the bpm. If this does not work he said we can try...

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guest speaker

The Hospital for Sick Children cardiology department is having their annual gathering in September 2007. We would love to host a guest speaker who is also a famous (or not-so-famous) pacemaker recipient. We are looking for a sports person or a singer or someone who tends to be inspiring. We usually host a guest speaker, last year it was a magician, illusionist.
We have about 100 children and their families who attend. It is run by the fabulous medical team at HSC.
Is there any way...

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cat scans and pacemakers

Hi,
I just wanted to know if anyone ever had problems when they had a cat scan? I just had a cat scan today, I have had many in the past, so I'm very used to them, but today something strange happened, I was fine when they were scanning me, but when the machine started moving around me, I felt my heart starting to beat hard, it reminded me of when I have my pacemaker turned off to see how my heart is beating, It was getting harder and faster, so I told them to stop, they thought I might be...

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HRT and pacemakers

Are there any ladies out who have a pacemaker and who also take HRT?

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More Questions!

I went back in yesterday for another visit. I put off going to the ER the night before because I knew that they couldn't do anything for me. I have had my pm for 7 weeks now and this entire time has been up and down for me. My heart has started to do most of the work and has gone back into tachycardia once again. I didn't think that this would be possible as they have burned so much of my AV and SA Node. As they changed more settings on the pm they told me that overtime I would just start to ada...

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Getting a replacement....

I was told yesterday that its time to replace my 6 year old Guident dual chamber pacer out. The doc has decided to replace it with a Medtronic. Just curious if any one has a Medtronic and has had any issues with it. I'm not too comfortable with Guident any more because of all the issues they have had over the last couple of years but I don't know anything about Medtronic and what kind of a track record they have.

Thanks,
Janice

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Spring is finally here and it's time for some Golf

7 months post op here with a dual chamber St. Judes PM for a 3rd degree heart block. Had it installed just before October and when I posted then, it was the end of the golfing season here in snowy western PA. It was a long winter and oh did I have cabin fever. Today was about 70 degrees and sunny so it was finally time to test the golf swing... I have read many posts about golfing with a PM in and really had no concerns about it, especailly after 7 months of healing. I did however call my c...

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2 lead to 3 lead

First of all special thanks to Smitty, Surferman, Suze for your posts. It is a comfort to hear from other folks in similar situations. My husband wants to know if anyone here has had a 2 lead changed to a 3 lead and if so how did it go? He's pretty much decided to go through with it as there isn't much choice at this point. Again this evening he was having trouble, but we hopefully avoided another ER trip with the nitro spray. I'm going to try to call cardio tomorrow and see if there is any...

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Marathon Success

Just so everyone knows, you can maintain an active life with a PM. I just completed my first ever 2007 Boston Marathon in 5 hrs with no issues or complications. I also trained with the Polar F2 heart rate monitor without issue. What a feeling crossing that finish line !

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I'm Back

Hello Everyone!

I've been away for a while as I have been busy taking care of my Mom who after four months after my Father's death and my PM implant began suffering with a bit of depression and anxiety.

My Mom has always been a very strong woman when it comes to moments of crisis, she has always been someone's "Rock of Gibraltar."

After the crisis of my Father's death and my surgery passed, the reality of my Father being gone and all the concerns of being a new...

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Newer Wires in ICDs May Have More Failures

Implanted Defibrillators: Wire Trouble
Study Shows Newer Wires in ICDs May Have Higher Failure Rates Than Older Models
By Salynn Boyles, WebMD Medical News

They were supposed to be more reliable, but the wires now used in devices implanted to protect the heart actually appear to be less reliable than earlier versions.

In a newly reported German study, the annual defect rate was as high as 20% after 10 years of use for wire leads used in implantable car...

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Plastic Surgery

Has anyone ever had any plastic surgery done – perhaps some kind of fat filler around the ICD – to minimize the appearance of the "lump" you see from the device? If so I'd be interested to hear your experience. I don't even know if this sort of thing is done but I thought I'd throw it out there.

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You know you're wired when...

Titanium is your favorite metal.

Member Quotes

I've seen many posts about people being concerned about exercise after having a device so thought I would let you know that yesterday I raced my first marathon since having my pacemaker fitted in fall 2004.