Feels like palpitations
- by sammysue03
- 2012-10-27 07:10:12
- Complications
- 1612 views
- 9 comments
I had my pm placed July of this year. It was a real shocker considering I was only 29 yo at the time (turned 30 in august). Learned that I had a second degree heart block and within 2 weeks had the pm placed. I was feeling so good until a few weeks ago. Started feeling more tired, and felt like I was having occasional palpitations, however when I check my pulse its running about 80-90 bpm. Went to the cardiologist yesterday & he's not really sure says it could be the pm needing to be calibrated, it could be some fast heart beats (svt) which showed up on my last pm check. He wants to put me on some Atenolol for 8-10 days to see how I feel with that & then I go in for another pm check. Has anyone else had these feelings? I also get really bad headaches but I've had those for years off & on. So not sure that they are connected at all.
9 Comments
I have the same thing!
by daisy0388 - 2012-10-27 08:10:37
Sammy,
I have had bad palpatations since I had my PM due to IST placed in July and about a month ago started getting dizziness with it, after going back to the dr 3 times in the past 4 weeks on wed he finally discovered I have junctional rhythm, Right now I am trying meds, that don't seem to be working, and probably going to have to have another ablation to my av node and get a different PM since the other one is only a single chamber in my atrium. If you continue to have problems make sure you get it checked out. Hope this helps , by the way I'm only 36 :)
Holly
One suggestion
by ElectricFrank - 2012-10-28 01:10:00
Before adding meds it makes more sense to try pacemaker adjustments. Many of the heart meds have undesirable side effects as well as being expensive. If they start you on Atenolol, and then adjust the pacer the adjustments will take in the effects of the med. So now you are stuck with it.
The more logical approach is to try the pacer changes and then add the meds if it doesn't work.
By the way if the doc isn't sure what is happening then he/she shouldn't be messing with your heart. It sounds like you have a doc who doesn't understand pacers so wants to throw the more familiar meds at it.
frank
Is this normal?
by debarayle - 2012-10-28 03:10:05
I am a new PM recipient since July of this year as well. I had total heart block and have a 2 lead PM. I am 45 years old and have been doing well up until about two weeks ago. I have had two irregular heartbeat episodes over the last two weeks each lasting just a few...maybe 10 minutes but today I happened again and lasted about 30- 40 minutes. It was nauseating. It felt like my heart was rolling around in my chest. My heart would beat a few times normally then skip a beat or two and beat again. It felt awful. I was driving and was going to go to the ER bc it was frightening. By the time I got home it had evened out so I didn't go. I was just wondering if this should be happening?
Sounds like...
by donr - 2012-10-28 07:10:54
...PVC's. They can easily do that.
Hi! Welcome aboard.
1) the beat a few times normally then"Skip a beat" is just what a classic PVC sounds/feels like. The "Skipped" beat is the PVC - the ventricles contract before full, hence the beat is not as strong as normally. The next beat seems stronger because the ventricles get a bit of extra blood in them. Be patient & you will get used to them. Now - your heart CANNOT SKIP A BEAT! Your PM, if it is working correctly, will not let it. Now, a PM cannot stop things from going early - like a PVC - it can only prevent things from going LATE - like a potentially skipped beat!
2) If you ever feel like your heart has stopped beating for 5 or 6 beats, that is a RUN of PVC's. What happens is that when a PVC occurs, your AV node tells the ventricles to contract early. Each beat is INDIVIDUIALLY timed by the Sinus (SA) node & it starts timing after the last ventricular contraction. So it is possible for the heart to START its beat process correctly & for the AV node to give the "GO" signal for the ventricles early several times in a row. In that case, all those beats are lighter than normal & you don't sense them & get immediately scared. Put enough of those in a row & you could feel light headed - not enough blood is being pumped. Now THOSE little suckers are much harder to accept w/o a bit of anxiety/panic. BTW: you are authorized. And - yes, that can all make you feel nauseous! And scared. I get runs occasionally & it still gets my attention for a while.
An experience w/ runs that I just had. I was lying on an OR table about to have my foot repaired w/ local anesthesia. The monitor was beeping along nicely at about 80 BPM, my normal rate under such circumstances. The PA stuck her Turkey baster sized needle in my foot & started pumping the beginning of a quart of fluid. Suddenly, the PVC's started. I had a run of about 20 of them. I felt it. Even the beeper felt it - it stopped sensing my heart beat. I had them throughout the procedure , which lasted about 20 min. After the first run, it was more of an interesting experience for me, because i knew what was going on. I commented to the nurse that I was not concerned because I knew my PM was functioning & the silence did NOT mean that my heart stopped.
Don
Good one, Don
by ElectricFrank - 2012-11-01 01:11:58
With me they only start worrying if I stop talking. (:
frank
Welcome Home, Frank
by donr - 2012-11-01 05:11:39
Do you usually talk when you have a coyote between your teeth? Shame on you - you're not supposed to talk w/ your mouth full.
A few yrs back when I had my first cataract replaced w/ a plastic lens, They wheeled me into the OR area where the "Great Man" was to do his job. I'm lying there beneath the sterile sheet & he says to me - "OK, Don, I'm ready to start. Your job is to just lie there and NOT TALK!"
Don
You know you're wired when...
Your pacemaker receives radio frequencies.
Member Quotes
I love this new part of me, and very, very thankful that this technology exists and I know that it's all only going to get better over time.
Welcome - you are not alone
by donr - 2012-10-27 08:10:07
Sammie: First -= welcome aboard. Glad to have you.
Second - don't be shocked about becoming a PM host at the ripe old age of 29 - I am NOT being facetious! There are many folks here who got their PM at BIRTH - & scattered across all ages up into the late 80's. Thou rideth not a great white stallion!
Third - you suffered an ELECTRICAL failure of your heart, not a physical one. They can happen at any time. Ever had something electronic crap out on you right after you bought it & turned it on? It happens & no one knows why. Just one of those thingds in life.
Fourth - there are lots of folks who have suffered what you have. Not me - I just wanted to welcome you & tell you to hang in there a short while - they'll be along. PM settings are not unusually the culprit in making you feel bad.
DOn