Carolyn65

I am new to the club ~ was told 2 mo. ago by my heart Dr. to have a pacemaker installed ~ A-fib condition.. This was after the procedure of stopping the heart & shocking w/paddles on 2 different occasions, about 1 yr. apart. Even with these procedures, heart resumed A-fib. I had been on Flecanide for a year until the heart Dr. said to discontinue taking the meds & have the pacemaker placed. I take Warfarin (Coumadin) & blood pressure/cholesterol meds & these are in check. I have had A-fib for a long time ~ did not know this until GP found A-fib in 2008 ~ ~ I always for years & years had a slight "flutter" in chest ~ thought it was just nothing/coughed & the flutter went away each time ~ ~ I do not have the symptoms the heart Dr. continually asks, "are you tired, short of breath, dizzy, fainting, etc.?" No ~ my symptoms are my leg calves ~ I can not stand but for a few minutes before my lower legs "give out" ~ that is where my tiredness/exhaustion is ~ only in my lower legs, which have always been very strong. I do not know IF a pacemaker will make this condition go away since I am not tired w/i my body ~ just lower legs ~ I have only had this exhaustion condition about 6 mo. in my lower legs. I am really scared & apprehensive to have this pacemaker inserted in case it will not take care of my problem. I have heard/read pros/cons on having a pacemaker placed ~ ~ the "placement" seems such a final step, even though my heart Dr. says my heart muscles are strong. Does/has anyone had these particular problems? THANX ~ Carolyn65

3 Comments

ablate and pace

by golden_snitch - 2009-08-17 01:08:23

Hi Carolyn,

as Ian or Ian's doc said the afib supression algorithm in pacemaker usually don't work well. Meds are the standard therapy, for some an ablation might be worth a try (though many patients need more than one procedure), and the last option is the "ablate & pace" strategy. This means that you get a pacer implanted, and then a few days or weeks later, they completely ablate your av-node so that is no longer able to pass those irregular or fast beats from the afib on the the ventricles. Regarding the ablation alone without pacing, so-called pulmonary vein isolation, it's supposed to be more successful in those patients who don't have afib all the time. The longer and more often you have it, the smaller the chances to get it cured with an ablation.

So, unless you cardio is thinking of this ablate and pace strategy, there is no reason why you should get a pacer. Or do you have afib with bradycardia?

Best wishes
Inga

second opinion

by Susan - 2009-08-17 11:08:00

I would encourage you to get a second opinion. There are other options to treat afib besides a pacemaker. There are other meds, PVI abaltions, mini-mazes, Mazes, etc. I think treating afib with a pacemaker is going out of style for other treatment methods are more successful at stopping afib however, sometimes a pacemaker is needed for low heart rates that some afibbers have.
SusanD

Pacer / A Fib

by IanMcC - 2009-08-17 12:08:24

Hi Carolyn, I have a St Jude pacer for SSS and Bradicardia, it is a model with an algorithm which is supposed to help suppress A Fib, But even my heart doctor told me they don't work very well in supressing it. I can feel it speeding up my heart when it happens so it is doing its job.
However the pacer is for my slow heart beat and not for the A fib.
I'm not an expert but I didn't think you usually get a pacer when you just have A fib symptoms.
I have a friend who gets cronic a fib whenever he gets sea sick and has to be shocked to get his heart back to normal and he has never been advised to have a pacer.
I'm sure you will get lots more input from your question.
All the best, Ian.

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