Cardio version

My mom is having cardio version in the morning. She is more anxious about the esophageal echo. The dr told us he doesnt use as much sedation as you would with an endoscopy. Also there is talk of a pacemaker if this does not do the trick. My aunt was at the hospital today and when that was mentioned she was all big eyed and oh! I would just stick with meds!!!! I have only heard good things about pacemakers...any wisdom from the ones who have first hand knowledge,,Also am
Any opinions on Pradaxa. Thank you!!!

4 Comments

diagnosis?

by Tracey_E - 2012-12-23 10:12:11

Why do they think she'll need a pm? Cardioversion is generally to restart the heart when it's going too fast. A pm can only speed up a slow heart or smooth out an irregular beat. There are meds to slow down a fast heart but none that can speed up a slow heart.

Are they talking about an ablation if the cardioversion doesn't work? That can sometimes leave a person in need of a pm.

If she ends up needing it, it's no big deal. It sounds a lot more scary than it is! The surgery is easy, most of us are sore a few days then get back to life feeling better than we did before. I think of it as my backup plan. It always watches the heart, when it misses a beat or slows down too much, it generates an impulse that mimics what the heart should be doing on its own that causes the heart to beat. The heart is still beating on its own, it sometimes just gets a bit of a jump start when it gets lazy. Easy fix for many problems.

a side note, be careful reading the posts here. Often people come here with rare complications looking for answers. For every one person who comes here with a problem there are thousands out there getting on with their lives so the percentage of people with problems is out of proportion. In reality, complications happen less than 1% of the time, serous complications are only a small percentage of that.

I can only say good things

by jane32 - 2012-12-24 03:12:36

about having a pm. I have had mine about 18months now and can do so much more than I could before. The thought of having a pm implanted is far worse than the actual procedure. If she does end up needing one, there will be plenty of support for her here. I have also been taking pradaxa since getting pm and have had no problems at all with it. Best wishes to you both.

Regards Jane

Cardioversion

by Many Blessings - 2012-12-24 10:12:42

Hi Gamom 529,

I've had many cardioversions over the years for chronic, uncontrolled, high rate A-fib. At first they worked and held (normal sinus rhythm/normal rate), but as time went on, I was having them several times a month and they were no longer holding. We finally made the decision to leave me where I was at. I stayed that way for 25+ years, which brought on late stages of cardiomyopathy with heart failure, along with several other problems.

I actually LOVED having the cardioversions. I would give anything if I could still have them. I felt 100% better when they worked. Because they quit working, and after many years of the chronic A-fib and high rate damaging my heart, I had to have a CRT-P with an AV-Node ablation (8 months ago.)

My heart rate did decrease by a ton after my procedure. Prior to my procedure, I was running from 115 bpm (sleeping rate) all the way up into the mid 200's throughout the day, depending on what I was doing. This was constant, not off and on.

After my PM, my rate range was initially set between 90-150, dropped to 80-150, dropped again to 70-150 (which didn't work for me) and upped back to 80-150 where I'm at today. Huge difference from pre-PM.

They told me a regular PM would not lower my rate because of my condition(s) which could be the same for your mom. But, with the CRT-P and AV Node ablation, it would, and did (does not fix A-fib though). I don't take any drugs other than Coumadin.

Listen to what everyone has to say about their experiences and what they know. Take this information to your mom & her doctors and ask every question you can think of. Make sure you search this site for any concerns you have and to make the best decision for your mom.

Good luck!



Pradaxa

by donr - 2012-12-26 06:12:30

avoid it like the plague! Unless you cannot take Coumadin or its generic, Warfarin.

My cardio is converting all his Pradaxa patients back to Coumadin. Reason? Because in case of emergency, Pradaxa cannot be reversed. Coumadin can, almost instantaneously, w/ a shot of Vitamin K. If it's not an emergency, a big bowl of spinach or kale will do the trick in a matter of hours.

According to Cardio's nurse, the only way to reverse Pradaxa is via dialysis, & that takes precious time, far more than you may have in the event of a life threatening bleeding incident.

Don

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