New guy, pacemaker next week

Hey guys,

I am having a DDD pacemaker fitted next week. I had transposition of the great arteries when I was born which was fixed with a mustard procedure. I had some stenting done when 14 but docs decided to not give me a pacemaker which was unusual.

As a result my heart has adapted, growing one chamber a shrinking the other, making my biology very different.
My rested bpm is 35 at the minute, and at full fatigue beats at about 98 and no higher.

As a result, my surgeon is putting the pacing leads on the outside (epicardial) of the heart which means i have two incisions :(.
I am 30 years old and I am exited about this op as many people tell me that because I have had heart block the same heart rate for over 25 years, a sudden normal heart rate will make me feel great and will change my life.

Has anyone had any similar experiences to my situation or does anyone have their pacing leads on the outside of their hearts. I know a standard pacemaker op is very short but i dont know about this one. My surgeon says I will stay in for around 4 days.

Thanks guys.

2 Comments

Epicardial leads

by golden_snitch - 2011-06-28 12:06:29

Hi!
I'm almost 30 and have been paced for almost 12 years. In 2008 I needed an upgrade to a dual-chamber pacemaker, and since I've had a superior vena cava reconstruction (open-heart) in 2003, I had to have epicardial leads placed. I now have two pacer incisions, but the one to place the epicardial leads is directly below my left breast so you can hardly see it.

Yes, a "normal" pacer surgery is shorter and much easier as compared to epicardial leads. You will need a general anaesthesia, and the pain is worse than after a normal pacer implant, especially the incision for the epicardial leads might give you a bit of a hard time. But it's nothing that can't be taken care of with painkillers. I had a little pleural effusion afterwards and spent five days in hospital. Four weeks later I came down with a pleurisy - also well known complication after the surgery. So, after all, it took me eight weeks to get back to work as compared to two or three weeks after a normal pacer implant. So, be prepared that it might take a little longer than in pacer patients who received transvenous leads. And take your time to heal.

Hope this helps a bit.
Good luck for the surgery!
Inga

TGA

by andcox - 2011-07-01 09:07:24

I had a very slow heart rate as well.. around 35-45ish.. I also have TGA but a senning at 6 months old.. then i had an arterial switch at 14.. I'm 30 now and love having my pacemaker and a faster resting heart rate..

glad your doing well!

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The experience of having a couple of lengths of wire fed into your heart muscle and an electronic 'box' tucked under the skin is not an insignificant event, but you will survive.