A variety of Pacemakers

I know a lady who's husband was a Cardio,he has passed,and in our conversations I mentioned to her that I have had my PM for a short time ( a year).
So yesterday,she brought in a Vince Lombardi metal lunchbox ( a old but mint condition one) full of Pacer units.
Talk about wild! There were so many different sizes and shapes that I had to touch them all,feel the differences in weight,and look at them all.
They were all new of course,and Im assuming they were for showing patients,it was just so amazing to see how some were huge and heavy,the early ones,and then some of the shiny thin silver ones.
There was one that was see thru,I could see all the circuits and the batteries,it was cool.Some were GE brand,then Medtronics and some others I cant recall the names of.
The heavy ones I cant imagine having to tote around,thanks to the people who have made them so small and light.
Kind of like the early cell phones compared to today's cell phones.
Just wanted to share this,I found it so interesting!
Laura

8 Comments

Recovery

by LeeT - 2013-07-20 05:07:01

I am a historian not so much interested in old PMs but rather directed to seek out the best ones available today. Recently read they are developing one with a battery placed in the heart. Only difficulty is developing a battery that will last long enough to make it a worth while installation. My Medtronic was installed last Jan 18th. I went through the various stages of adjusting to wearing such a device,however, I am thrilled at how it works and how much better I feel. Since my surgery my world has changed with a greater appreciation for all the good things I presently enjoy. Currently developing a stronger sense of my physical capabilities given the fact that weight training is very much a part of a strong health regiment.
Thanks To All, Lee (71 yrs old)

Sounds like...

by donr - 2013-07-20 09:07:54

...Nirvana or Shangri-La to me!

If that interests you, Google on the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Museum & read about all the neat stuff they have.
visited it back before you were potty trained in 1966 when it was in an old building on the Mall. WOW!!! they had the bullet that killed Abe Lincoln on display, along w/ a ton of other gory items. Not for the weak of stomach to observe just before lunch. (NO bears, however)

I spent an entire day there, unfettered by children (other than the thousands of little ankle biters swirling around me below the knees - all there on school field trips.) Read all the age-yellowed 3X5 cards describing the blood, gore & disease the artifacts represented.

The bullet that killed Abe was incorrectly identified as to its weight, being labeled as weighing grams, instead of grains & had obviously been that way for so long that the card was curled & brittle in its yellowness. I ferretted out someone of some kind of authority & told them about their error & went back to reading more cards. Fast Fwd to about 2006 (or close to it). They had moved to a spot on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in a brand new Bldg in NW DC. Took a couple hrs & went into the new digs to see if they had the Abe bullet out on display - wanted to see if they had made my correction. Rats! it was not out.

I chatted up a docent & wandered through w/ her for about 30 min talking about the place & the potential for errors in the labeling of displays. She was highly incensed that anyone would even SUGGEST that THEY would EVER make an error. Told her I'd leave a note for her when I left, telling her where the error was that I found. So' Nuff, about 2/3 way through, I found it! Wrote her a note & left it w/ the receptionist.

For those interested in such things, they have a couple Iron Lungs on display.

Walter Reed is now moved to Bethesda, MD. The AFIP museum is defunct, but all its goodies transferred to another museum in Silver, Spring, I think. Gotta go back - if for no other reason than to proof read the new cards!

Don

Photos

by Grateful Heart - 2013-07-20 09:07:57

Too bad you didn't take some photos. I would love to see them, especially the older ones.

Oh, oh.....does that mean I am getting PM nerdy??....

?????................Nah

Grateful Heart

devices

by Hope - 2013-07-20 09:07:57

Hi! Laura, I am sure that was an interesting and informative experience. So many on here have reasonable curiosity about their devices. My first device (second one now) was an emergency implantation. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. the morning.g of my first surgery, an pro ceded to write my new cardiologist a note to be clipped to my chart. I requested to see a sample of the foreign object about to become a part of me. I needed to get acquainted. Though my cardiologist said it was his first such request, he willingly obliged. I believe every patient should at least be given that opportunity. Fear of the unknown,as can be detected in many post on this site is natural., I hope more patients will ask to be more informed. Any little bit of stess we can avoid for our hearts is a positive. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Hopeful Heart

Hope

by Grateful Heart - 2013-07-20 10:07:33

I agree and I have seen mine too. Well, not my actual one, but a similar ICD...LOL.

I would love to see the older ones though and the evolution of the PM.

Grateful Heart

Interesting stuff

by KAG - 2013-07-20 12:07:14

It would be very interesting to see the device evolution. Here's to all those who went before us and tested out those first models. Things have come so far compared to when they first started using them. Thank goodness! Now it's almost no big deal to get a PM. Got an electrical malfunction, pop in a new system and away you go. I know it's not quite that simple but getting there.

I'm totally a person who has to understand what's going on. I'm 5 weeks post PM install and I can tell that as my knowledge increases my anxiety decreases.

I had to see what the "bear" and "squwabbits" were (before my time) so I've been reading old posts. LOL Humor is definitly a great medicine!

Hope everyone has a great day!
Kathy

medtronics pm...

by lubro - 2013-07-20 12:07:44

when leaving the hospital, I received a package from Medtronics, including certain instructions, pamphlets about the pm, the phone hookup device, and a demo model of my revo MRI pm...I thought that was pretty neat... when I returned to work, I showed it around, telling my coworkers that I removed it just to show them, and had to go put it back in, cause I couldn't keep it out of body for too long... most of them just did a double take, then laughed at me; however, a few of them seemed shocked... hey... I thought it was funny...
gotta have a sense of Yuma...
ps... no squwabbits were injured during this message...lol

That is so cool!

by Many Blessings - 2013-07-21 01:07:37

I bet it was fun seeing all the different styles, sizes, and feeling the different weights from over the years. I'd be excited too.

My sister is a cardio nurse, so I was able to look at, touch, and feel the weight of all of the current ones prior to mine. Even that was interesting. I can't even imagine what you got to see & feel! I've seen pictures of some of the old ones, and can't imagine toting those around just like you said.

Think of how far they'll come in the next 10 years or so! The PMs will probably be the size of a sim card. People then will laugh at what we're carrying around now.

You know you're wired when...

You have a dymo-powered bike.

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