liteppie

Just went to medtronic tech for check up. She said the pacemaker is in the 3month safe period and I must scecdule to have a replacement. What actually happens to the heart when this happens? I am 100% paced and have a dual channel pacer.

3 Comments

Battery EOL

by SMITTY - 2011-12-15 09:12:24


Hello,

I looked at your bio and you don't say what kind of pacemaker you have so I'll take a guess based what happened to me.

When my battery got weak my Medtronic PM, and I think this also applies to a St. Jude (and maybe others), went into VVI or EOL Mode (End of Life Mode, they are talking about the PM battery, not EOL for the patient). With that it quit being an on demand PM and went to pacing my heart full time at a constant rate of 65 BPM. Since my PM had been pacing me anytime my natural heart rate dropped below about 80 BPM, I knew immediately something drastic had changed. With you being 100% paced you may not notice any difference, except your heart rate could be lower.

The three month safe period is not absolute and your PM battery may last a few weeks less or a few weeks longer. If it were to quit, the severity of your problems would depend on why you got the PM. But, I would suggest that you talk to your Dr and get his input.

Good luck,

Smitty


liteppie

by liteppie - 2011-12-15 11:12:46

Smitty, thanks for your comment. My pacer is a Medtronic KDR921 placed 9/8/06. According to the tech, it went into EOL mode around 11/23/11. I have a cardiolgist appointment Dec23 early, but will call him tommorow to see if I can speed up the process. Thanks again.

I have a Bostin Scientific

by janetinak - 2011-12-16 01:12:54

& pace @ 100%. When my PM went into what the clinic called ERT (Elective Replacement Time) I was told by the company rep. that I had 90 days to replace & then would go into EOL (End of Life). I asked what happened then & rep said don't want to do that. My Rate Response shut off so my PM stayed at 70 b/min. As Smitty said, not fun but my PM was replaced within a month or so. So you are correct to call & ask for ASAP apt, esp with the hoildays coming.

Good luck,

Janet

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