Thumping in my chest

I am 38 years old active mother of 3 that went into complete heart block July 2012 after a viral infection. I got my pacemaker and I felt much better except being able to feel my pulse in between my breast. It feels like I am being flicked from the inside, which is very annoying. My doctor doesn't seem to think much of it? Had anyone else felt this?

2 Comments

Yes!

by vphillips - 2013-01-28 02:01:38

I don't feel it very often but yes I have felt it... And yes it is very annoying.. I think its from the pacemaker..

Get checked out

by Grateful Heart - 2013-01-28 05:01:49

Hi Tiff,
I copied some of this from a previous post that I responded to:

I had something similar too. I couldn't lay on my left side because I felt what I called a "ticking" feeling. Since I was new to the pacemaker/ ICD world, I didn't know this wasn't normal. As time went on, the "ticking" feeling became more frequent and not just when I laid on my left side. One day it became much stronger and I went to the hospital. They did the usual tests but did not interrogate the device. 2 days later they sent me home saying all was fine.

3 months after that it got even worse and it turned out my Right Ventricle lead was stimulating my diaphragm. It didn't make sense since this was on my left side. The Tech and Nurse explained the RV crosses over to the left side (under your breast) which is exactly where I felt it all along. It turned out the lead wasn't capturing and it was stimulating my diaphragm, hence the “ticking” feeling.

If you want to test it, ask them to turn the voltage up and see if you feel it MUCH stronger than you do now. It won't hurt, but it is very uncomfortable.

They had to replace the lead. They did not take out the faulty lead but put in another one along side it which is typical. More than 1 lead and sometimes several can fit in 1 vein depending on the size of the vein.

While I felt it very early on, the interrogations did not pick it up until 2 1/2 years later with an alert finally on the print out.

Sometimes they can make an adjustment I am told. It doesn't seem emergent (at least in my case) because the pacemaker is still pacing your heart, it is just uncomfortable. This may not be your case, but it does sound like it. Talk to your doctor and ease your mind.

Good luck and keep us posted,

Grateful Heart

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