Pacing or Ectopics??

Hi,

I got my PM in August 2012 after the EP fried my AV node during an ablation. To say I was not a happy camper was understatement.

Between then and now has not been a good time for me and slowly but surely I have been sinking psychologically. I've had some rough times and visits to the ED.

I've had ectopics for sometime and they had been reasonably quiet until November last year. I was put on Verapamil which I guess over time quieten things down again. I went back to exercising, but found I couldnt do more than 110bpm without getting ectopics. This had never happened before. My last treadmill stress test May 2015 I ran for over 13 minutes to 150bpm, the limit of my PM, and never missed a beat.

I recently had a 24 hour holter monitor test and out of the 141 times I pushed the button when I felt an ectopic the report came back saying only 8 were real.

I asked my EP what the other 133 where because I didn't imagine them because I know what an ectopic feels like because I've had a few. All I got was you were in sinus rhythm and nothing else.

So now because my EP is such a pain in the arse to catch I don't know if I'm having ectopics or what when I get them,

Another PM fitted person on a FB page says that pacing changes can feel like ectopics, but that would mean my PM is changing pace all over the place.

Any suggestions? This situation is really getting me down. I don't know whether to be happy or afraid.

Regards Daryl

2 Comments

PM Delays

by BillH - 2016-03-01 02:03:27

In at least some PM there are setting of the delays and minimums that if set too long can cause skipped ventricle beats at higher heart rates.

Ask the PM tech about this. Might need to monitor the PM while on a treadmill.

Ectopics

by golden_snitch - 2016-03-01 06:03:18

I used to get ectopics (PVCs) when I started running. The first couple of weeks, maybe 6-8 weeks, I had them. Told my cardio, but he said not to worry, but continue running. So, I did. And eventually they stopped completely. Now I can run 16 km without any ectopics. Maybe you just need to do the same.

If the holter hasn't shown ectopics, there are none. Sorry to have to say this. But holters are very accurate in picking up atrial or ventricular ectopics. Some people can feel their pacing, but after an AV-node ablation you are paced 100% in the ventricles anyways, so then one would expect that you either feel it all the time or not at all. I also had an AV-node ablation, and I'm also paced 97% in the atria. I feel when I have an intrinsic atrial rhythm and am, for a short period, not paced in both chambers, but only in the ventricles.

Best wishes!

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