st jude pacemaker

Just recently had my pacemaker placed. Left shoulder....now the pulses in my wrist are different from one another....anyone got a clue what is going on?

1 Comments

Hi Labgirl

by IAN MC - 2012-12-27 04:12:30

What do you mean when you say the pulses are different ?
Do you mean that one side is weaker than the other or is the actual heart rate different ?

Under normal circumstances the pulse rate and the strength of the pulse are equal and in both wrists.

There are medical conditions which can cause differences in pulse strength if there is some sort of unilateral obstruction in one of the peripheral arteries eg a clot or thickening of the peripheral arteries, or trauma on one side . But we only have one heart and the pulse rate should be the same both sides.

If there is a marked difference in Blood Pressure in each arm ( a difference of more than 20 points in the Systolic measurement ) Drs would usually investigate further because this can be a definite sign of peripheral artery disease.

BUT much of it can come down to the way you measured it . Fluctuations of Blood Pressure and Heart Rate can be fairly big when measured minutes, or even seconds, apart.

How big were your differences and how did you measure them ?....they should be done on both wrists simultaneously to be accurate !

I cannot see why having a PM should cause this ( I guess trauma to the blood vessels on one side could theoretically cause it but I'm only guessing ! )

If you are concerned I would mention it to your Dr, he would probably check out your BP measurements on each arm as well.

Best of luck

Ian

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