pacemaker a-fib and related drugs

Hi...

I recently had a pacemaker installed, due to an episode of a-fib. I am 68 yrs old, have never had any problems prior to this...I am a very healthy active man, but am now very concerned and pretty scared of all that I'm going thru. My cardiologist has me on meds that are calcium channel blockers
and sodium channel blockers to try to stop the irregular a-fib. I'm concerned with taking these meds...how does blocking calcium and sodium affect my heart? seems that if my heart has channels for calcium and sodium, they must be there for a reason... so how does "blocking" these things affect my heart and overall health? I need to do more research on this, but I only had the pm installed last week. I guess I;m just looking for any support with this that I can find. Pretty scary stuff this is... any words of advice or encouragement will be greatly appreciated. anyone else out there who has gone thru this must know how I feel right now...I'm worried...I'm scared to even go for a walk for fear that the a-fib will start up again and my heart rate will accelerate and won't come back down...when I was taken to the hospital, my heart rate was around 150...Whatever I was given to bring it down caused me to flatline for 8 or 9 seconds...I spent 6 days in icu...saw 3 cardiologists, all who recommend the pacemaker...I would be very interested in any support and/or discussions groups about this... so, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated...

thanks...

Lubro

5 Comments

I'm a newie too

by Unexpected Changes - 2013-01-30 05:01:29

I have had my pacemaker for 9 days and I am feeling great. Reason for implant very slow heart rate and too many "pauses". Slowly finding the balance between doing too much and overdoing it. Totally on L Plates with this whole thing but finding this club brilliant. I am 69 and still a happy, healthy Australian. Good luck. Patricia. Having my dressing off next Tuesday and back to my cardiologist for first post op visit on Feb 21.

Lots Of Us Out Here

by Many Blessings - 2013-01-30 09:01:14

Hi Lubro,

You're in good company. There are a lot of us out here who are in A-fib. I'm in chronic A-fib, and have been since 1987. I am 52 years old now, and had a CRT-P (PM) put in last April. It did not fix the A-fib, but with the PM, my rate is at a controlled rate. I'm 100% paced & dependent because I had an AV Node ablation. I'm not sure if you had that done or not.

Since your rate is now controlled with the PM, you shouldn't have to worry about the rate going up too high any longer. I will still go up with movement, activity, etc., so you still may have episodes, but your rate should now stay controlled while at rest and during inactivity. This will help you a LOT.

I'm super active, and always have been, even when my rate was super high prior to the PM. I never ran under 100 bpm, even during sleep. I work full time and have always lived a very active life (hiking, biking, traveling, etc.) My rate during activity ran well into the upper 200's, and during the day at work, in the upper 100's, all day long. This went on from 1987-20012. No medication worked for me, and they tried everything, even experimental.

I say this only because I want you to know you're not alone and you relax in knowing you can live an active life. You're scared now, but peace will come, I promise you.

Yes, you do need to be a little more careful at times, and depending on your A-fib, you may need to go on Coumadin or another blood thinner to prevent a stroke (and yes, I did have a stroke in 1987 at 27 years old and do have TIAs to this day, but much less after my PM). Luckily, I have no noticeable, permanent damage from it.

I know you're going to get many, many other comments letting you know you're not alone and that you can lead an active, happy life, and that your PM is there to help you now. Trust it. You're going to go through some emotional highs and lows for a while, until you can get used to the thought of having a PM, and trusting it is there to help you.

I wanted mine out BAD as soon as I got it. For the first couple of weeks, I was posting things out here begging for anyone to tell me I could get it removed, which because of the AV Node ablation, I could not. You may be nervous, regretful, scared, depressed, etc., which is normal for many people out there. Again, you're not alone.

Make sure to let your doctors know if you have any uncomfortable feellings or unusal sensations, fatigue, etc., since having your PM, since there are many settings, etc., that may have to be changed to make you more comfortable. This was never explained to me by my doctors. I learned about settings from this site, thank God! A good setting change can make a HUGE difference.

Good luck and keep watching your post for more comments from lots of great people who are in the same situation as you.

Take care, and welcome to the club. We all understand and care!

Welcome to the club!

by donr - 2013-01-30 09:01:32

Lubro: That's the club of NORMAL people, believe it or not!

Everything you are going through is perfectly normal.

I can remember the day they told me I had High Blood Pressure when I was about 55 yrs old. I thought it was my death warrant. Then I found out that there were nearly 100% of the men my age that I worked withe who had HBP. Then I found out how many different drugs there were for HBP - more numerous than guppies in a tank in a fish store!

There are a bunch of classes of HBP drugs & each one acts a bit differently. There are Sodium & Calcium Channel Blockers; ACH controllers. Beta Blockers, ad nauseum. There are so many that I will not even hazard a guess as to how they function. Many of them also affect HR, as well as control BP. Yes, CA & NA are absolutely necessary for heart health & proper functioning - but like all things chemical, their levels can go awry & have to be controlled. You have fallen into that group of people who need them controlled! No big deal!!!!!

Thou spaketh a bookfull when you said you need to do more research. Knowledge leads to understanding; understanding leads to less stress; less stress leads to relaxing and SOME of your problems solved. You have started on that road by coming here & asking questions. Somewhere in the great universe of PM Hosts is a person w/ an answer for you.

You are but a mere week into your official duties as a PM host. They are very important duties. You have to make your new little buddy feel at home & make sure that it understands that YOU are the boss. It goes where you go, does what you do & doesn't complain about it. You try your darndest to go back to a normal life.

There are over 19,000 members of this club, scattered around the world; concentrated in the US, Canada, The UK & other English speaking countries. Just to make it interesting, we get an occasional post in Italian or French - & there are a few people who can write replies in those languages. World-wide there are PM Hosts numbered in the tens of millions - not a small number by any stretch of the imagination.

The anxiety ^& concern you are facing is not at all uncommon, so relax,ask away & learn. You have lorts of company & you are definitely NOT the first person to have your concerns.

For starters, GO FOR THAT WALK! Just don't over do it at this point. Also, take someone w/ you as an emergency support. Only by getting back to normal will you gain confidence in your ability to function . You have the rest of your life to go - start it by walking a short distance - even if it's only 100 yards - you need to rebuild your confidence.

Besides, a week into a situation that will last another 32 years (You do plan to live to be 100, don't you?) is really early. You still have not recovered from the cutting part of the surgery, let alone the psychological aspects of having the PM installed.

Good luck to you in your new adventures in PM Land!

Don

Lubro...Calcium blockers

by IAN MC - 2013-01-30 11:01:39

You ask some good questions. Take calcium for example; as you rightly say it must be there for a reason and it is ! Heart muscle cells and artery wall cells NEED calcium to help them contract.

When a heart muscle or arterial cell contracts, blood is pumped around the body . If you take a calcium blocker it reduces the amount of calcium getting to the cells so arteries widen a little and this reduces Blood Pressure and eases angina.

The real answer to your question is that these drugs only reduce the amount of calcium, they don't switch it off completely.

To confuse matters , there are two types of calcium blocker;-

- those whose names end in "ipine" e.g. amlodipine, felodipine,nifedipine tend just to relax blood blood
vessels so are used for BP and anginas.

- the other type also relax the cells in the heart muscle, these include verapamil and diltaziem and are used for afib and other arrythmias as well as for BP and anginas. I assume that your Dr has put you on one of these 2 drugs.

The encouraging thing about calcium blockers is , that as drugs go, they don't have that many side-effects . I believe that temporary constipation and swollen ankles are the commonest. One quirk of calcium blockers is that you must not take grapefruit juice with them as there is an interaction.

So it is probably not a case of your calcium levels going awry, as donr suggested ,simply that slightly blocking the calcium transfer will hopefully help your a fib.

Best of luck and welcome to the club

Ian


still confused, but getting better at it...

by lubro - 2013-02-02 12:02:42

thanks for the wonderful support here... I have been researching different drugs and side effects... I'm realizing that everyone reacts differently to all the meds out there.. its a matter of what works for the individual. I went for "the walk" this morning... pulse naturally increased as I walked (took it slow) and when I came home, my rate slowly came down to normal...whatever that may be now... but it was a good first step to rebuilding my confidence. going out to celebrate my mom's 87th BD tonight... she's a trooper... alzheimers... fell broke her hip... got pneumonia... made it thru all that and 3 weeks in rehab... she hs good days & bad days... I guess my problems are miniscule compared to so many others...Each day I feel a little better.. Going back to work will be a real challange... But, I'll make it... thanks again to all here for the info and confidence boosters... Lubro

You know you're wired when...

You forecast electrical storms better than the weather network.

Member Quotes

Pacemakers are very reliable devices.