Young mum

Hello,
Just wondered if there was anyone who could get in touch who is in a similar position to me. I have a second degree heart block and been told I need a pace maker. Yet to be fitted. I was ok with his news until I read all the things that can go wrong! I am reasonably fit and not yet 40 with a young family. Am now unsure of the best course of action. Is here anyone in the uk of a similar age and condition who might like to share their experiences with me. Thanks for reading.

6 Comments

complications

by Tracey_E - 2012-10-16 01:10:28

Many people come here because they have rare complications. Know that for every one person on here who had a problem, there are thousands out there feeling great and getting on with their life. The odds of something going wrong are less than 1%, serious complications are considerably less than that. Everything has risks. Driving your car, taking an aspirin. The benefits of this FAR outweigh any potential problems.

I am on my 4th pm for av block, feel terrific and have never had any problems. I got my first one at 27, had two babies with it. I'm 46 now and my girls are teenagers. I'm healthy and active. I work out hard, I hike or ski most vacations, most people don't even know my heart has a problem. Without the pm, it's unlikely I'd be here.

Check out the animations here.
http://health.sjm.com/arrhythmia-answers/videos-and-animations
They explain what av block is and how the pm fixes it. If we have to have a heart problem, this is by far the easiest one to fix. Our sinus node (nature's pacemaker) beats normally but the signal doesn't always get through to the ventricles so our hearts end up out of sync. This is very hard on the body, puts stress on the organs from lack of oxygen, makes us tired and dizzy. All the pm does is complete the broken circuit. It watches every time the atria beats. If the ventricle beats, it continues to watch. If it doesn't, it issues a little pulse that mimics what our heart should have done on its own which causes the muscle to contract (the beat we feel as our pulse). Simple fix!

I just sent an email to Loopy Lou. She doesn't get by here much anymore but she has av block also, has kids and is about your age and from UK.

What can go right

by Zia - 2012-10-16 01:10:40

Hi Kirsty

I'm not your age and not in UK, but I can tell you that both Ian and Tracey are absolutely right about this. I've had my PM for two years now and most of the time I forget it's there, except for the twice a year when I have to go and get it checked. I first found this forum when, like you, I was told I needed a PM. Also, like you, I was surprised, scared, etc. The folks here were so helpful and kind that I listened to them and went ahead. NO REGRETS!

Would only advise that you ask your doctor any questions that come to you and insist on good answers, then go with your own best interest.

Thank you!

by Kirsty uk - 2012-10-16 05:10:24

Ian, Tracey and Zia,
Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns and reassure me. I was beginning to think everyone who has a pace maker has a bad experience. This is clearly not the case, I am usually a positive person, ian, honest! but this is new territory for me. I will check out the link Tracey, thank you, and write down some questions for my cardiologist as you suggest Zia.
Best wishes,
Kirsty

33 in Chicago

by JustKrs - 2012-10-16 08:10:18

I'm a 33 year old female here in Chicago, IL and I have to agree NO REGRETS!

Before they put in my pacemaker i was taking naps every day and often blacking out once a week or more for three years.

Since they put the pacemaker in... no blacking out, no extra naps, and no crazy symptoms of "almost blacking out" like the lightheaded/dizzy etc.

I did have a minor complication - the pacemaker didn't quite heal into a position so that it was secure and not moving. So after three months they went back in to change the position of the pacemaker itself and sew it into place better.
And while they were in there they also moved one of the leads to a better position.
But it was a minor outpatient procedure with an easier bounce back then the first surgery.

Life has complications. The incidence of life changing complications, based on what my cardiologist has told me, is actually less than the odds of things many random accidents that happen to folks in life - and MUCH less than the odds of medical complications that could be life threatening if the heart conditions that many of us have are left untreated.

Oh, and for the record... I plan to be back on the ice soon and playing on my hockey team again next season!

Good Luck!
And feel free to post questions and ask for support! We are happy to help!

all the things that can go right ??

by IAN MC - 2012-10-16 12:10:32

Hi Kirsty I'm not your age or sex but am from the UK.

For the Dr to suggest a pacemaker for second degree heart block means that you must have symptoms eg heart skipping beats, dizziness or feeling faint. They don't tell you that you need a PM just for the hell of it. Most cardiologists work to set guidelines which determine who needs a PM and who doesn't.

So assuming that you do need one, let us forget about all the things that can go wrong . Many people have written on here before , pointing out that people who contribute to this forum are the tiny minority who have problems . The vast majority of people who have PMs ( and there are around 5 million of us world wide ) have no problems whatsoever .. sometimes a little tweaking of the PM settings are required
; other than that they carry on with normal lives...bringing up children, going to the gym, dancing, playing tennis, running marathons , whatever turns them on !

Every time you cross the road do you think about all the things that can go wrong or do you think that the vast majority of people can do it without any problems ? I bet there's a forum somewhere about people who were hit by lorries!

Best of luck, Kirsty and just think how much better you will be after you have a PM

Ian

Young mom

by sugarbunny09 - 2012-10-18 02:10:04

I found out i needed a pacemaker October 2010 and waited it out until just 2 weeks ago which is when I got my pacemaker. My daughter will be 3 one week from tomorrow. I finally got the pacemaker because I wanted to be healthy for my daughter and I wanted more energy to play with her and I wanted to make sure she saw me take care of my self. I am now glad I got it done. I think Its still a little soon for me to notice much change but I have noticed I am not dizzy every time I get up.

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