Lengres or Levs disease

I am a 58 year old female. Healthy and active. Regularly do boot camp and running. Fainted for the first time on July 20, hospitalized, fainted again on August 13. Have fainted at least 10 x this past month. Wore a heart monitor for 2 weeks and have been diagnosed with Lengres or Levs disease. many tests were done and its not lyme or thyroid and I passed the cardio test while really exerting myself. Latest Syncope on Friday left me tired and weak. Feeling more and more like its hard to breathe. Like others my heart rate is very low in 20s at night. Drs say Pacemaker is the way to go. Can anyone help me feel more confident about this?
Thanks!

4 Comments

feeling better

by Tracey_E - 2012-09-10 05:09:35

I'm not familiar with Levs, it sounds like acquired heart block? From what I just read I can't tell if there's more damage than just the electrical system.

Is your hr dropping when you pass out? Regardless, 20's at night is damaging to your body and most definitely a reason to get a pm- it's not borderline, no drugs will fix it, and it won't get better on its own. If a low rate is the cause of the passing out, the pm will fix it also because it will never let your rate get too low.

Most of us find the surgery easier than expected and we come out of it feeling better than we expected. Being in shape when this started will help you bounce back faster. I was born with complete heart block and have had a pm for almost 20 years now. I do boot camp and run 5 days a week. I don't let a little hunk of titanium slow me down!

This website has great animations on how the heart beats, what heart block is, how the pm fixes it
http://health.sjm.com/arrhythmia-answers.aspx

If you have questions about the surgery or recovery, don't be shy!

Yup Pacemaker

by PacerRep - 2012-09-11 01:09:19

the problem with this particular cardiac conduction disease is that its not reversible. Once the fibrosis builds up on your purkinje fibers your stuck with it. Easy fix, get a pacemaker and the rate will go back up and stabilize. 20bpm is doing damage to your organs, you can't have that.

Lengres or Levs disease

by purejoy - 2012-09-11 12:09:42

Thanks very much TraceyE for responding to my post. Yes I have a first rate AV Block. The dr said I have a calcification or fibrous thing that is interfering with the conductivity. That has most likely been there all along but only now is causing these syncopes. he says its probably genetic.

I am grateful for the tips and will explore them,
I am glad to hear that you are active and haven't let a hunk of titanium slow you down. Great example for me!

Lengres or Levs disease

by purejoy - 2012-09-12 01:09:29

Thanks pacerrep. i have scheduled the surgery for next tuesday. i am going to be getting a biotronic evia.
NYU hospital and Drs are good. Will be having it placed under the skin. Here goes!

You know you're wired when...

You fondly named your implanted buddy.

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My pacemaker is intact and working great.