Most Recent Messages in Batteries & Leads

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Medtronic Lead Problem

I received a call from my cardiologist last week asking me to come into the office to get my lead checked as I have the serial number for the defective defibrillator lead. Of course I am concerned about having a fractured lead and I may choose to have the entire unit turned off instead of facing an "iffy" surgery.
Have any of you ICD owners gone for your initial appt. yet on the recalled lead? Are you choosing to have it replaced and what info did you receive that helped you make that deci...

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WHAT DO I HAVE

I GOT MY ID CARD FOR MY PACEMAKER TODAY. I'VE NOTICED THAT ALOT OF YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE. I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF INFO. I'VE NOTICED FROM SOME POSTINGS THAT CERTAIN LEADS DO CERTAIN THINGS. I HAVE A ST JUDE PACEMAKER MODEL #5816; RA-LEAD 1688TC/46, RVOT-LEAD 1688TC/52. ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
MARGARET


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Flutters

I have had my pacemaker for 6 and half years.
I have been told by the doctor the battery is running out.
I keep getting a fluttering feeling in my chest.
Why is this?

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Newspaper Clipping FYI

Was reading the newspaper today and came across this little article and just thought I would share it. Doesn't really relate to me, but thought some of you might be interested in it.

Medtronic shares drop 12%

Minneapolis - Medtronic Inc. is stopping distribution of wires that connect some of its defibrillators to patients' hearts after learning they may have contributed to five deaths.
Medtronic shares dropped more than 12% by midday Monday after the disclosure.

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leads

I don't know how many saw the article in the Wall Street Journel today about the failure of the Medtronic leads. It concerns the leads used with the ICD. According to the paper there have been 5 deaths realated to this lead failure. I called Medtronic and they said they have had 665 failures out of 268,000 in use. The paper said they have had a failure rate of 2.3%, so I don't know who is right.

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Noise from Pacemaker

I am wondering if anyone else can describe to me what the sound the pacemaker makes when the battery is low. I have a guidant pacemaker model 1290 for little over 2 years and last night I heard a sound coming from my chest. My last visit to see the Tech was in July and I my battery history shows I have over 5 years left. I called Boston Scientific/Guidant this morning and the technician stated that my pacemaker does not make any noise when the battery is low. Has anyone else had the same thing h...

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3 to 6 months left on PM

Just got back from PM check and doctor told me I only have 3 to 6 months left on battery in PM. He looked a little in disbeleif because I am only pacing 15% of the time.My PM is a Duel Chamber St Jude and have had it since June of 04. I feel it should last longer and so does the doctor. He said he will not put back in a St Jude which is fine with me..Has anyone else had short life out of PMs ?
Thanks
Don

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New Lead Needed

Hi all,

Well I used to be on here when I first got my pacemaker inserted and always find this site to be useful and helpful.
I'm a 28 year old female and have had a pacemaker for three years now. I have bradycardia and heartblock. Recently I've been tired and stuff. I decided to go get the pacemaker checked just in case it was the problem.

At the check up they noticed something and sent me for x-rays and they confirmed my lead is fractured. Now it's still working ok i...

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racing heart

I have a 3 lead pacemaker. Has anyone had a problem of their heart speeding up when in a car,truck, or on a lawnmower when the road or lawn is extemely bumpy? I just had mine checked and they said it was fine, but something is'nt right! I have had mine sense July 18,2007. I go from 65bpm to 130bpm within 100feet walking at a stady pace (not a hurried pace). any ideas to what might be going on??

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racing heart

I have a 3 lead pacemaker. Has anyone had a problem of their heart speeding up when in a car,truck, or on a lawnmower when the road or lawn is extemely bumpy? I just had mine checked and they said it was fine, but something is'nt right! I have had mine sense July 18,2007. I go from 65bpm to 130bpm within 100feet walking at a stady pace (not a hurried pace). any ideas to what might be going on?? Larry

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BATTERY LIFE NOT AS GOOD

I am in touch with quite a number of pacemaker patients both here in the UK and abroad. I cannot help noticing that I recieve comments that " My old pacemaker laste 15 years but the new one will only last 6". What on earth is going on? I know that pacemakers have got smaller but it is leading to more frequent surgery for replacements. I think all pacemakers should be made to last at least ten years. I have an AV node ablation so the medical risks at replacement for me are much higher. My chest w...

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Thank you

This is to all the wonderful people who responded to my question about having my Pace maker replaced.
Thank you so much for your input,encouragement and prayers.
I will have the procedure done Tuesday and will let you know how it went.
God bless you all.
Ingrid in Texas

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pacemaker

i need to have my pacemaker replaced and i am scared to death.
can you tell me about your experiment
thnak you ingrid

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Lead Extractions

I am scheduled to have my old ICD leads extracted, due to a low grade infection, in October at the Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Wilkoff. Hopefully they will not have to extract the ICD leads on my functioning unit.

My first ICD was put in in 1995 at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston.. A replacement was put in in 1999 at Massachusetts General Hospital. I got an infection in 2002 and the unit was taken out and most of the wires were cut off at the clavicle at St. Luke's. Now the rest of those...

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Single Chamber


I was operated and have a single chamber pacemaker year 1999. Now, this year got a gallstone and gallbladder operation. My doctor told me that I have a single chamber which is not clear to me if I really need then to hae the dual chamber. My question is what is single chamber and dual chamber all about? And if dual chamber battery is advisable why then they did not inform us as to have dual before. I just married year 2006 and still no child for I am not sure how safe for me to be pregnant...

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PACEMAKER MOVES A LOT

Im fine but I am slightly concerned that when I move my arms the pacemaker moves around a good deal. 3 or 4 inches or up to 10cm. Is this anything to worry about are the leads able to put up with this continuous flexing without breaking.

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Very bumpy lead

Hi
My daughter (aged 7) had her battery changed 6 days ago. The wound is healing well but there is a quite prominent bump (part of a lead I think) above the pacemaker. It wasn't there before and she didn't have the leads changed. It's about 3/4 of an inch long and protrudes about 1/4 of an inch. I'm not sure if this is normal. Any ideas? Thanks

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Lead Pull

Hi- does anyone know if you feel it when you pull a lead? I was just curious as I had my PM put in 3 weeks ago and am paranoid that I will put a lead. Do you know when you do it?

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Anyone hear of something like this?

My dad had a device (pacemaker/defib.) implanted a few years ago and towards the end of July his device went off--not once, not twice, but almost twenty times. From what they can tell, the problem was with the leads and it "leaked" electricity causing the device to read the heart rate as 3x faster than it really was causing it to continuously go off. At the hospital they finally got it to stop by placing a giant magnet on his chest until they were able to get a St. Jude employee to come over an...

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time for replacement concerns

I am 53 years old. My first pacemaker was implanted when I was 36. This pacemaker worked well for 4 years until the leads were recalled.
I then got a new pacemaker and leads. I was pretty heavily sedated because I was a total wreck of nerves. This pacemaker has given me almost 13 years.
I now need to have a replacement in the next month or two.
Can anyone tell me how difficult this procedure is?
Should I be able to resume my teaching within a week?
Thank you,
Se...

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You know you're wired when...

You have a dymo-powered bike.

Member Quotes

In fact after the final "tweaks" of my pacemaker programming at the one year check up it is working so well that I forget I have it.