blackouts

hello to all & thank you in advance.

I'm wondering if anyone suffers from blkots AFTER having a PM? I've had mine for two yrs now. I suffer dizzy spells, low-bp, and frequent a-fibs.

Now, I'm having mini-blackouts. It's bad, cause I've been driving when I had 2, which I drove off into the left-hand ditch! And 1 'grey-out' also while driving! Which I watched as a curve approached & I could not move!

God blessed me each time with a save recovery....no accidents, no other vehicles involved.
my fear is that it could happen. I'm not driving, and am scheduled , by my cardioligest, to see my heart surgeon.

What am I to expect from this visit? What steps might be taken to prevent future blackouts? I've already had 2 ablations for a-fibs. These spells came on during a-fib spells that seemed to have been lasting days, off & on.

thanks, I know I'll get sound advice & opionions from you all

9 Comments

re: holter

by Catteacher - 2012-09-24 05:09:18

No, and I've read about this...thought this is what my cardioligest would have tried before refering me.

Holter

by Tracey_E - 2012-09-24 12:09:18

Thank goodness you are ok!!!!! How scary.

Afib and low bp can both cause blacking out. Two very different fixes, depending on which one it is. If it's caused by the afib, I'd expect to be talking about another ablation or change in meds. Have they put you on a Holter monitor yet?

STOP DRIVING

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-09-25 01:09:09

C'mon, how are you gonna live with yourself if you cause the death of a three year old or a dad with 5 kids? Stop driving until you are fairly certain you have the problem resolved!!!

PMs are supposed to help keep you from passing out. They sometimes get rid of afib if it isn't too bad, but that's not happening in your case. I have reade about several people who have had numerous ablations throught the years. But Tracey hit the nail on the head - you gotta know what the problem really is before you can fix it. Your situation doesn't have the "gotta have a heart transplant" kind of urgency I sometimes read, so relax and let the doctors figure this out. But, please STOP DRIVING UNTIL THEY DO!

Self righteously, Dave

Kewl

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-09-25 05:09:18

Didn't mean to be a jerk (although that comes quite naturally), I'd just hate to see your obit pasted on the site!

Best wishes - Dave

NOT DRIVING!

by Catteacher - 2012-09-25 05:09:19

Sorry, I am not driving....after one episode, a dr told me I was sleep deprived. So, I thought it was a matter of 'keeping awke'. The next 2 episodes happened during one trip. I wasn't sure then bht what it was slepp related till I got to a 'safe place'and sat and thought through the events. I now realize I have NO control, such as keeping wide awake.

Therefore, I am dependent on family to take me places.

results

by Catteacher - 2012-09-26 10:09:55

hey, so... upon reading my PM today, they say there's NO abnormalties and I need to seek advice from a neurolegist (?) So, tomorrow's visit to my GP, I'm to get a referral. Thanks for ur advice...

Every Individual is Different ~

by Carolyn65 - 2012-09-28 01:09:25

I did not have any symptoms before my PM implant surgery, just the Afib ~ I was referred by my regular doctor for a possible Afib problem. The heart Dr. asked IF I was dizzy, blacking/passing out/etc. "no, no, no" ~

After surgery in 11/2009, I Xperienced several 'happenings' through out the year, post surgery.
I became 'light headed' many times, a lil' dizzy once in a while, an involuntary twitch, here/there, of a finger, leg, arm, etc., I once went to 'sleep' while driving, also. On the same 400 mile trip, I veered to the right ditch and the 2nd time on the same trip, I crossed a double line. The 'sleep' last only a few seconds, but enough for me not to drive again ~ scared me to death! My heart Dr. wanted to do a sleep apnea test on me, but I chose just not to drive on trips anymore. I do fine on 30 miles 'stretches' just running errands. I also had swelling of my feet/ankles for no apparent reason according to blood tests, etc. I just add all this up to my body telling me, "Hey, you let something foreign into your body" and my body tries to over come the foreign object ~ ha-ha. Each time I had a symptom, my heart Dr. would tell me it had nothing to do w/my PM. I found/find it very hard to believe b/c I never did any of the above Pre-PM.

Keep us 'Posted" on your Great Progress,
Carolyn G. in TEXAS ~ Stop to Smell the Flowers ~

low bp, & re: Carolyn in Tx

by Catteacher - 2012-09-28 07:09:42

thank-you for sharing this! My brother, a nurse, also explained in detail how my heart muscle could be being
slow to react, causing me to 'blackout' & it might not
show on the PM reports. Can't explain it the way he did.

My

reg dr also thinks low BP is still an issue & cut my BP meds in 1/2 for a wk, I'm to keep a record & see him
next wk. see quote ....


"Good the hear about your DR’s appointment, can’t say that I fully agree… the recorder may tell one story but if the heart muscle doesn’t capture the electrical impulse and contract, your heart will miss a few beats and pass out. In other words, the pacer maybe working well but if for any reason the message to the heart doesn’t connect, it ain’t going to do what’s it’s supposed to do. it’s sort of like a drop call on your phone, the phone is working, it’s just not connecting to get the message across. "


Syncope

by Mimi and me - 2012-10-15 12:10:56

My neurologist was convinced I was having"sleep attacks" while driving. I have stopped driving until I find out the cause. Sleep tests showed severe sleep apnea. My v-pap machine worked ok until I woke up holding my breath several times. I Insisted I get referred to a cardiologist. The Cardiologist agreed that I was sleep deprived based on visual inspection and just listening to my heart. I finally got him to agree to run tilt test, stress test, echo test to rule out the heart. That was last Wednesday and on Thursday morning I was in surgery for a pacemaker. My heart had stopped for 6 seconds several times during the tests. Apparently the v-pap machine was trying to force me to breathe during the time my heart stopped which caused me not to breathe. I still don't know whether or not I have the sleep apnea or if this was caused from my heart stopping.

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