Is 75 setting too high?

I have been reading many posts about PM settings & it seems like my setting of 75 is a little higher than most. When I had the PM insert last April 2011, I told my doctor that I thought that 75 would be good for me & that is what he set it on.
I have a good doctor but last year when he suggested the PM,
I was led to believe that he had done many PM surgeries only to find out later that he was really new doing PM's.
My heart racing wakes me up about every 2 hours all night and it is always beating really fast when waking in the morning. I am starving for more than 2 hours of sleep. I take ambien every night but never rest. Please, any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

3 Comments

Mine is 75

by Janey L - 2012-04-18 02:04:26

Hi. My lower rate is set at 75. It was originally set at 60 when my PM was put in but I had an accelerated junctional rhythm & the only way the PM techs could stop it was to increase my lower rate to 75.

Before my 2nd ablation which caused the sick sinus & hence the PM....my normal HR used to be 75-80...so once the PM was set at 75, it felt normal for me.

But everyone is different & what is right for one person is not the same for someone else. It depends on why you needed the PM & other heart problems etc.

My upper rate is 130.

Have you checked your pulse when your heart is racing?
Is it way over 100, for example? You can still get fast heart rates with a PM.

Hope this helps. I've only had my PM 7 months so quite new. Hopefully others with more experience will be able to give you some more help.

Best wishes
Janey

It really seems to be person to person dependant

by jds66 - 2012-04-18 05:04:24

Boy, your story sounds like mine to some extent. Been struggling at about 3 weeks to get any sleep, ambien has been my only way to get even 4 hours in.

Mine was set at 60 initially, then up to 70, because they thought that it would help some rhythm issues, then back to 60 on 4/9 when I just could not sit still or rest at all.

For me, with SSS, with a resting rate before of 47, and down to as low as 32 at night, for what I am used to, 60 is just not feeling good for me.

I am hoping to get it closer to what I was "used" to, and am trying to get them to put it to 50 when I go back in.

Also the Medtronic sure scan I have, the setting from the box is DDDR.

I am only pacing 3% on the ventricle side, so I am trying to talk them into putting it into AAI mode, which will only pace the Atrial side.

The reason for that is that DDDR mode has NO sleep mode, AAI does. I looked it up in the technican manual, so that is reality.

If you have a sleep mode for your unit. I would strongly suggest that they activate that.

I really have empathy for your sitution, as I am going through it right now too, only at 3 weeks, it is just making me really really not feel great to never get to sleep.

If you have been dealing with this since April 2011, that is just unacceptable. Become the squeaky wheel and tell them that there are adjustments can be done.

I am not worried what they think of me at the Cardio office, they dont have to live the daily grind of what adjustments I am trying to deal with-

I hope you get some strength to do this- I know it is hard, but become your advocate, no one can understand how you feel better than you- tell them again and again.

75

by Rodlyn - 2012-04-19 01:04:16

My rate is also at 75 bpm. when it was lower I had no energy. If you are not sleeping because of the heart and not something else it is because of something else ,not the rate, I'll bet. You might have another arrthymia going on. I suffered for three years with A Fib which was always worse at night and I would be up with crazy irregular beats going on and off. I would feel short of breath and could not get comfortable. Make sure your Dr checks out what is really happening at night. Do not assume anything. Good luck

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