life longevity

I have not been on the site for quite some time and now I realize I missed you folks and your kind and honest thoughts. So I am back and intend to keep coming back as long as there is breath in me.

Does the time line of longevity for your life become less simply because of having the need to have a pacemaker no matter what age? eg would be a young man lets say of 40 who would normally have a life expectancy of lets say 75. Well now that he or she has had the need for a pacemaker, does it auto shorten your life span? I know I should know this and I have read some but I know you folks are the experts and I literally trust your opinions. Thanks so much and I pray and give good wishes to you all................Billy D

8 Comments

The trouble with statistics

by Zia - 2013-03-12 01:03:10

An old math prof of mine used to start every course with the quote "there are three kinds of lies;
lies, damn lies, and statistics" and would go on to say that statistics can be made to back any claim you want to make.
There are too many variables in our lives to make any prediction based on statistics or any other factors. So just living your life the best way you can is the closest to a guarantee of a good life. Or with the birthday quote (here we go again) "May you live as long as you want to and want to as long as you live"

PS Some of our lives would have been much shorter without the PM!

Thanks so much for your responses

by BillyD - 2013-03-12 01:03:50

As usual you people seem to really care about the postings that mean a lot to all of us. Once again, I cannot thank you enough to you all for answering my post. I wish you were all my neighbors. What a happy street that would be........Billy D

mind over body

by Hope - 2013-03-12 03:03:35

Hi! The words mind over body have meaning here. As previously mentioned, a device is not a sentence, and one can easily die from an unrelated cause. Fear is our enemy, not our devices. Our life expectancy is closely related to our attitude and what we do and do not put in our bodies . Try to live happy and healthy and worry not. I wish you happiness. Hopeful Heart

Increase

by Tracey_E - 2013-03-12 10:03:06

Well, without the pm I wouldn't have seen my 30th birthday, so I'm already well ahead of the game. My dr said my lifespan is not affected by the pm, that my heart has a problem, my problem is fixed, go get on with my life and don't worry about it. If anything, having the pm makes me more conscious of my cardiac health with regular check ups, I'm careful about diet and exercise so maybe I'll outlive the couch potatoes with normal hearts but living on junk food and are out of shape?

There are no studies, no long term evidence. We are the first generations to be paced long term, teens now are the first generation to be paced since birth. Can we have problems with pacing long term? Of course. But we can also get cancer, be hit by a bus, and a long list of other things. I'm more worried about the chemicals in my food than the wires in my heart.

Probably longer

by ma_ku - 2013-03-12 10:03:12

Hi,

I think it's hard to say for sure, but definitely longer for the folk with complete heart block and probably longer for those with 1st/2nd degree heart block.

My diagnosis has also made me look at my overall lifestyle. Although I was exercising a lot prior to diagnosis, I probably let work stress get to me more than I should have, in addition to not sleeping enough. My diet wasn't terrible but could have been better. I have addressed the areas that needed improvement directly BECAUSE of the pacemaker being implanted. I will also be saving up and paying for a full physical every year in addition to the regular checkups. I have tuned my exercise regime to do slightly less distance but more often. So 3-4 days of running/cycling a week will now be 4-6 days of running/cycling/walking but for less duration (~45 mins rather than an hour or more). Also cutting down on the drinking (not that I drank an awful lot, but there was scope for a small reduction ;-)).

Taking all that into account, I could still get hit by a bus tomorrow and cancer is a great leveler. I lost my mum to that at age 44. So who knows. All we can do is the best we can and try not to worry too much about our "little helper" I guess.

Mark

I doubt it

by jimkirschvink - 2013-03-12 12:03:02

If anything, it increases your life span. Our hearts will still be beating long after we all croak

I had a high school teacher who has had a pm for over 40 years. I'm 57 and have had one for 7 years, my mom is 87 and just got one last week. She feels great!

Life Expectency

by ElectricFrank - 2013-03-12 12:03:28

It is influenced by so many things that predictions are almost useless. When you read about any of the so called "risk factors" beware of those that state them in relative terms.

The problem is that pacemakers are implanted for so many different conditions that having one in itself doesn't say much. Mine is for simple AV block which over the 9 years I have had the pacer nothing has changed. At 83 yrs old it's far more likely I'll die of something else. For someone who has one of the conduction disorders that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest, a pacer or ICD can do a pretty good job of handling the situation, but isn't perfect so it might be and indicator.

Statistics are only useful in understanding a population for insurance purposes. My doctor tried to scare me into taking statins for my chlorestoral by telling me I had a 21% chance of a heart attack in the next 10 yrs. I asked him what a 21% chance meant to me personally. That ended the conversation. It actually has no meaning.

So, enjoy life while it's fun.

frank

Frank came through, as usual

by donr - 2013-03-13 09:03:30

Statistics apply only to groups, NOT individuals.

F'rinstance - statistics tell you that given a big chunk of metal going through the brain, you will die. That's because MOST people who suffer this injury do die. However, there are exceptions, because the statistics of this group are distributed across a spectrum of outcomes. - like the railroad gandydancer who took a rather long steel prybar through his brain back in the 1870's(?) & lived a considerably long time after it occurred.

Don

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