MRI PM

I have just found this forum & am thrilled because I have so many questions.

I was wondering if anyone has the MRI SureScan Pacemaker by Medtronic. Although I asked about it, I really didn't have any information about it before my surgery. As I was being sedated the device specialist told me it had only been in this country for a year & Europe for 3 years.

I understand that it & the leads are heavier than the other devices. I had an emergency revision due to pain the day after the placement. Just wondering how many others may have this device.

Thanks!

12 Comments

surescan

by devonboy - 2012-05-28 05:05:00

Hi ronilee, i had a medtronic sure scan implanted 3 months ago and i have been encountering some upper arm pain particularly when I swim, I am going for a US Doppler scan this week to check on the flow in arteies and veins. I still find the area around th PM tender if I knock against it

medtronic revo surescan

by idgie - 2012-05-28 05:05:28

Hi ronilee, I have the surescan pacer. I think it's the medtronic revo surescan. Is that what you have? I didn't have overwhelming pain while adjusting to it but did have some muscle twitches, needling pain and arm pain. I didn't go to get it revised. They didn't tell me anything about the leads being heavier, though. I wonder what it means. Are you doing okay with it now? How long ago did you have it inserted?

I also have the Revolution SureScan

by Jax - 2012-05-28 06:05:00

I am 6 weeks since my pm.

My arm and shoulder hurt for a few weeks now I feel good.

No one said anything about the wires being heavier until after insertion. I hope it lasts a long time. I'm just trusting my EP cause what can I do now.

I know Medtronics is suppose to be a good company.

Sometimes you don't know enough to ask the right questions.

Hi devonboy

by idgie - 2012-05-28 06:05:23

Why are they doing the doppler? Are there problems with the functionality? Will you please let us know what you find out? I'm a little concerned about this now, esp if this device is so new that we don't know much about it.

Same here...

by idgie - 2012-05-28 06:05:30

They sing that praise like it's god's gift to earth (maybe it is!)...

Thanks, Guys!

by ronilee - 2012-05-28 06:05:37

Thank you for getting back to me so promptly. My PM was placed 4 weeks ago today & revised 4 weeks ago tomorrow. It was done as an emergency procedure. I started having chest pain during the night & by 6:00 AM it was excruciating. When they took me back he told me he was going to remove it & put the regular one in, but instead he moved the lead wires from the outside wall to the center of my heart.

Idgie, I don't see anything about "revo" on my information. Is your suppose to be MRI "friendly"?
You mentioned "needling pain". Is it sensation like something sharp is sticking through your chest? I have that occasionally & it really scares me.

Ian, I am glad to see that you have & are doing well with yours.

Devon boy, I am sorry you are having problems with your arm. I seem to be having a good deal of pain. However, I have a left shoulder replacement that is needing to be redone; so, I am never sure if the pain is shoulder or PM related.

Thank you all for being available. I am really having a hard time adjusting...you know it is the old denial thing ("I don't need a pacemaker!). I will try not to drive you all crazy but it is good to have someone to discuss with who really knows.

Have a good Memorial Day

Me too

by IAN MC - 2012-05-28 06:05:44

hello ronilee. I have had a Medronic Aviva Sure Scan for 10 months now and have never had any associated pain with it. I wasn't aware that it is heavier than any other PM but I've got nothing to compare it to.

I had a PM checkup today and the physiologist was singing the praises of the Medtronic Sure Scan range of models .. " the best available" in his view.

Ian

Hi ronilee and jax

by idgie - 2012-05-28 08:05:42

ronilee, I did have these needling pin prick kinds of pains around that area, not in the chest... more in the place where the pacer is? I have a MRI-friendly one, yeah. Do you? How're you feeling now other than the pulling/tugging? Have you seen an Ortho yet? I would... but make sure he/she talks to your EP and that you don't have anything else going on. Your EP needs to give you the go ahead in terms of the pacer functioning okay. So I'd talk to your EP over and over until he pinpoints why you're having the pulling etc.

Jax, I have the surescan revo brand too and they didn't tell me anything about the leads being heavier. I am going to ask. You're so right about not knowing the right questions to ask.

I'm back- more questions

by ronilee - 2012-05-28 09:05:24

Thanks for all of your comments. Jax, you are right, sometimes we don't know what to ask. My EP just said that the "box" was a little bigger & heavier & the wires were heavier ( something about the insulation I think).

Do ya'll (yep! I'm from the south.) see your EP now? I went back for my wound check & the device specialist checked the PM. They told me to come back for my next device check in 3 months & not to see the Dr. for a YEAR. I thought that a little strange since he changed my medicine over the phone & I'm still having the irregular beats (which he told me I would; just not the pauses). I just wondered if this is the typical protocol.

idgie, my "needling" is not around the PM. It is deep, deep in my chest & just like a sharp something "sticking" me. Who knows, I'm just crazy I suppose.

Look forward to chatting with my new PM friends soon. Thanks again for your help!

Me too

by Janey L - 2012-05-29 07:05:43

Hi. I too have the Medtronic Surescan MRI compatible PM, implanted September last year. Had no problems with it so far. Didn't know the leads are heavier.

Only dilema I've had is having a MRI.....Cardiologist said a MRI would help diagnose my current cardiac problem but I was very hesitant, even with this PM, & he too decided not to go down that route yet. I guess I never thought I'd need a MRI so soon after implant. I had a MRI years ago, for something else (before my PM), so I know what it's like to have one. But I was surprised at how unsure I feel about having one now, even with this PM.

My PM techs told me that if I do have a MRI scan with this PM, I'd have to attend the PM clinic to have the "MRI Function" turned on....have the MRI....then return to PM clinic to turn that function off again. They said they don't leave that function turned on all the time. I'm in the UK so it may be different elsewhere. But the PM box & leads are MRI compatible, they just have to turn a function on the PM to "on" for the actual MRI scan.
So I've been told anyway.

Has anyone had a MRI scan with this PM on here? Just wondered if anyone has experience of having it done with this PM yet?

Wishing you all the best
Janey

Hi Hurtheart

by idgie - 2012-05-30 12:05:18

Yes, this is indeed scary. I know that what I'm going through right now NO ONE told me about before the device was implanted. And I asked repeatedly what could be the side effects etc etc. Sigh... I'm going to call Medtronics anyway and see what they tell me.

Have the Revo Sure Scan and have had an MRI

by jds66 - 2012-05-30 12:05:45

I just got my Revo Sure Scan on 3/29/12 and had a brain MRI on 5/16/12.

There is alot of information that you can find out on the web about getting an MRI with the Sure Scan, but basically, there is a three page checklist that your EP and the MRI facility need to complete before you can have the MRI.

The time period between surgery and having an MRI is 6 weeks- I had my MRI at 6 weeks and a couple of days.

I had to find a facility that could handle doing an MRI of this type. Luckily for me, a hospital in NJ, about 50 miles from where I live, St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton , NJ could handle the special setting the MRI unit needs to be in to do the MRI> it uses about half the power of a traditional MRI.

The hospital setup contacting the Medtronic rep, and he was there to meet me. They put the PM into I believe ODO mode, set to 50 bpm. ( I usually am in AAI=>DDD mode at 40 bpm low rate, for bradycardia).

They turned the Sure Scan feature on and after the 45 minutes of the MRI, the Medtronic tech turned the feature back off, and showed me I was back to the original settings I had before I came into the hospital.

I felt some funky sensations, but nothing that caused me any heart issues, probably the same things I would have felt being in an MRI tube regardless of the PM.

The Medtronic website has a section devoted to what medical facilites will accomodate a person with a Medtronic Revo Sure scan. That is how I found the facility in Trenton.

They have done about 7 or 8 scans now they tell me- I felt pretty comfortable, as I wasnt the first one they tried!

Beyond having to drive a bit out of my way, there was nothing else to it beyond having an MRI the old way, pre PM.

The only test they couldnt do was the MRI for blood flow of the neck arteries, apparently they need to put a device around your neck that would sit on the PM- that test they could not do.

Also, from what I have read, you are somewhat restricted with MRI's, looks like anything in the torso area is something they cant do, from the waist down and the neck up is about the range of what can be done MRI wise with the Revo Sure Scan.

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