severe irregular heartbeats at rest or active

hello, i have a medtronic pacemaker and defibulator was done in 2009. i have always had problems and they say the device and heart looks good. the last 2wks i can feel my heart beating rapidly, alot of chest pressure, pain and hot needle feelings in my left arm, pain in my left side of neck and have swealing in both arm and neck, dizziness, and any movement makes it worse this is the bad one. the one that always occurs is rapid heartbeat and pressure and pain in chest and throat in between collar bones eitheir one of the is caused with activity or while at rest. the doctors and medtronic folks say that device isn't picking it up and the echos they run doesnt give evidence of it eitheir. all this week i have had ekg's ran and 24hr holter monitor taken off friday mornin and still havent heard on holter but ekg shows it and i can even tell the doctor when its fixin to happen. please any help and suggestions is greatly appreciated. thank you chris

6 Comments

forgot to add this to original post

by chris77 - 2012-10-06 11:10:43

sorry i forgot to put this in original post but when i put my hand on the pacemaker and move it around this causes my heartrate to jump to 105 to 120 also. i just wonder how the pacemaker knows when to speed up or slow down heart rate does it do it by physically being bounced around like during excersise or activity or does it do it within its programing. thanks everyone its just that i am so confused with all of this and the doctors seem not to have an answer but yet i know what i am feeling even an ekg shows it. thanks again

pacer

by daisy41763@yahoo.com - 2012-10-07 04:10:31

I was told that it was best not to touch your device. Leave it be, try to pretend its not there .. ha ha ha yeah right I say..
However, I avoid it like the black plaque.
I dont touch it, would never think about grabbing it with my fingers and moving it. No way. I was afraid it would move and something could come loose.
I bumped it once jumping in the bed and hit it against my husbands shoulder, I just about freaked out. It hurt really bad it brought tears to my eyes.

After , being miss cautious,. upon my last visit device check, looks like the juice is running really now., because I more than likely have a fractured lead. Now doesnt that sound scary., 2 years ago the ICD Rep apparantly turned one of my leads off because it was noisey, didnt tell me until a year or more later.
Now they spring this on me.
So, maybe you have a lead issue? Could your handling and moving it around cause a wire to be loose., you didnt say how much you touched the build in Timex.
Do you have a smartphone? there's a heart monitor app that I found that I have using. When , I lay down and move my arms close together or over my head, my monitor speeds up and the BPM are all over the scale, any where from 148 to 175 just laying there. That's without me touching the device.
Im interested to know if youve used one of these phone apps for the heart., if so. what do you think:

wow

by Pookie - 2012-10-07 05:10:16

it sounds like you may have a rate response issue...it's one of your settings....talk to your doctor about it.

your pacer shouldn't be bouncing around either, perhaps the pocket they made for it is too big or perhaps the pacer itself wasn't sewn down/anchored down like it should have been.

the docs & the medtronic rep probably didn't see anything as I'm guessing you were laying down pretty still when they checked you. How about asking them to hook you up on the stress test (treadmill) and see what happens.

Do you move your pacemaker around with your hand often? If you do, this is called Twiddler's Syndrome (If I remember correctly) and perhaps you should discuss this with docs too.

Just remember (and don't give up hope yet) that there is an answer to your problems with your pacer, it's just gonna take some time for them to figure it out, but you gotta do your part and journal everything to help them join all the dots to come up with why you are experiencing all of this.

Never ever give up hope. You will find the answer.

Pookie

just thought of something else...

by Pookie - 2012-10-07 05:10:44

I would politely demand an ultrasound (echo) or even a CT scan of your pacer & chest area - perhaps there may be a loose wire/lead...the problem may even be where the wire screws into the battery itself.

I am not a doctor or in the medical field in any capacity, so I just want you to know that my suggestions are just guesses.

I just think it's time for them to take a look at you with more than just EKGs and a Holtor Monitor.

:)
Pookie

thanks i'm just so confused

by chris77 - 2012-10-07 11:10:33

thanks for the reply. i am going again next week to the doctors. it was my first time to notice it jumping my pulse rate up when i moved it around, i was scratching around it and noticed it so i did it again and wow it ran my pulse up to 129bpm does it every time but i found that its not this i still having these episodes at complete rest with no movement or when i am active i just know something is wrong and it is driving me nuts i am almost as bad now as i was before the pm device at least i am not passing out yet though.

Read my history

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-10-18 03:10:04

All of the professionals kept telling me everything was gerat. I was watching the most beatifulo EKG you ever saw while having heart attack symptoms. I had to threaten to cut out the PM with a box knife before they took me seriously, found, and fixed the lead that had put a hole in my heart. All is well in my world now.

Raise hell, get anopther opinion, and don't stop till someone addresses the problem. But that's just my opinion ........

Good luck - Dave

You know you're wired when...

Your favorite poem is “Ode to a Cardiac Node”.

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My pacemaker is the best thing that every happened to me, had I not got it I would not be here today.