Need answers

I'm so glad this website is available. I need some information and advice from people who live with a PM.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer Jan 11, 2012 followed by partial mastectomy then 7 wks of radiation. May 23 I went in for a radiation treatment and the nurse became concerned because I was weak, tired, dizzy and breathless. After a CT to rule out blood clots on the lungs, my BP was taken. I was on 2 BP meds and it came in at 185/110 with 37 BPM. Off to ER, numerous tests, I was admitted for more tests. Pulse continued to fall dropping down to 27 BPM. Diagnosis: sick sinus syndrome, treatment: dual chamber PM. I told the Dr I had history of blood clot in the subclavicular vein left side but he apparently dismissed me. May 29 I had PM implanted. Dr tried numerous attempts on left side only to find the vein was completely occluded. So he moved to the right side. He put in Boston Scientific Altrua 60 and St Jude 1688TC leads. He also set one of the leads across the top of the PM. This puts a lot of pressure on the skin and causes significant discomfort. I complained of pain for 2 days, they discharged me. Three days later I went back to ER by ambulance because I couldn't breathe. X-ray showed collapsed lung. Chest tube inserted, hospitalized for 3 more days and told the pneumothorax was caused by the failed attempts on the left side. Now I have developed pericarditis and pericardial effusion. Needless to say, I have a new cardiologist.

Questions: why didn't he use the same brand PM and leads? Have you ever seen a lead set over the top of the PM? Have you ever heard of problems due to this style of implantation? Have St Jude 1688TC leads been recalled?

Thanks for any info you can give me.

rlones

2 Comments

Welcome :)

by Pookie - 2012-06-30 07:06:57

So sorry to hear about the string of events you went thru; you certainly had your fair share.

I hope you are doing ok regarding your breast cancer and all the radiation treatments.

There are certain risks when having a pacemaker and a collapsed lung is one of them - it's usually a less than 1% chance, but obviously it does happen. I too developed pericarditis and pleural effusion after my pacer back in 2004.

As far as using different leads and where they put them, it doesn't surprise me, but I'll leave that up to our other members to comment on as I'm sure it has happened to others.

The main thing is I hope you are doing much better and I wish you all the best. Hope you also keep us updated from time to time.

Take care,
Pookie

complications

by Tracey_E - 2012-06-30 09:06:20

I'm so sorry! Sounds like a case of anything that can go wrong, will. Prayers you are on the upswing.

PUtting the leads on top of the device is odd but I believe would have nothing to do with your other complications.

Leads are generally universal and work with any brand of device so it may have been a matter of one pm being best for you and/or your docs preference and another lead working best. Some leads are smaller than others, that could be a reason for choosing another brand. Some pm's have different functions or the dr may have a better relationship with the manufacturers rep. In my case, I have a St Judes device. The St Judes rep has a great relationship with both my cardio and ep which works in my favor, so when asked last time if I wanted to switch to Medtronics (it had a feature that may have been useful to me), I said no thanks.

I don't know of any St Judes leads being recalled.

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