VTach..

Hello everybody! I have a biotronic evia pacer... Recently in the ER with horrible chest pains not constant they would come last a few seconds I would feel my pacer go crazy then would just go away. So I'm all hooked up to the monitors in the ER laying on the stretcher and out of no where the horrible pain comes and I get dizzy and neauseas as I'm saying something's not right the monitor goes crazy and says vTech... this happens 3 or 4 more times that night the pacer rep come and says the device recorded nothing. So my electrophysiologist says it was just me pacing not really vTech... Meanwhile I pace all the time on the monitors and it just shows pacer spikes and I'm not in crazy pain!
Has anyone had this type of thing happen?? I'm at such a loss of what to do!

3 Comments

It could possibly be....

by PacerRep - 2013-09-26 10:09:01

Pacemaker Mediated Tachycardia...or PMT. This will show up on the monitor as Vtach and the Evia pacemaker does not record it. Basically in some situations...the Vpace will travels backwards in your heart causing the top part of your heart to contract. The pacemaker sees this and paces the bottom part of your heart....it goes backwards again and it paces again...its an endless cycle. The pacemaker recognizes this is happening and takes measures to stop it. Typically it only lasts a few seconds before the pacemaker slaps itself.

If this is what you have, ask your pacemaker rep to extend your refractory periods...more specifically the PVARP.

Call the telemetry unit for the floor your on and get a copy of that "Vtach" you had while on the monitor and have the pacemaker rep or cardiologist look at it and ask them if it could be PMT or Endless Loop Tachycardia (same thing, different name depending on where in the world you are)

Seems to me...

by donr - 2013-09-27 08:09:37

...that any good EP should be as knowlegeable as Pacer Rep & recognize the signs of the PMT.

Kind of disappointing.

Don

Thank you!

by Nic94 - 2013-09-28 05:09:55

Thanks pacer rep I will bring that up at my appt!
Donr, you would think! It was the EP on call that read it. (Not mine like I previously said).
As I was practically in tears from the pain he told me to go home and take some Tylenol that he couldn't admit me "just because" as if my goal in life is to spend as much time in the hospital as possible! Or like I would ever even goto the ER for anything something Tylenol could Handel!
So aggravating!!!!

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