Question re PM check

I have had my PM for 26 months and am getting a PM check every 6 months. When I was there yesterday I was told that the "pacing" has increased from 31% to 42% in the atrium and from 78% to 81% in the ventricles.
But why?
Will it be even worse next time?
Is my heart giving out?
Does it ever get paced less once it has been paced at such a high percentage?
I am stressed to think I am even more dependent the pacemaker.
The tech said I should exercise more...I did not see the Doctor.
any thoughts? And thanks.
C.A>

3 Comments

Be careful with supplements

by Theknotguy - 2015-05-08 03:05:01

Be careful with supplements. You get all sorts of stories out there will all sorts of numbers. Start with low doses and then build up if needed.

I'm kinda sorry now that I made that comment about magnesium. It isn't a cure all and the jury is still out about the long term effects.

Mostly I take supplements as supplements. i.e. enough to get the job done but no more. Had one person point out taking major doses of supplements can interfere with your heart meds. Good point as I do need something to help with the afib and supplements aren't going to do it on their own.

Some of them do make me feel better but critics would say, after being beat up as much as I was, anything would have made me feel better.

So be careful.

In the meantime, hang in there.

Don't get hung up on pacing

by Theknotguy - 2015-05-08 03:05:06

Due to your heart problems you ended up with a PM. Same as me. Don't like it, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

For some of us, the natural pacemaker the heart has doesn't function well so we get irregular heart beats, the heart stops, etc. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have a PM, it quietly steps in and takes over. Without the PM, we might be a lot sicker, or even dead. Not good options.

What you may be seeing is the natural degrading of your heart's biological pacemaker. In your case, the PM has stepped in, done its job and kept you functioning very well. If they hadn't read the PM, you wouldn't have even known it. Isn't it great you have such an amazing piece of equipment to help you?

A lot of people get hung up on how much they pace. They and you shouldn't. It doesn't mean your heart is going to stop if, in the remote chance, the PM would fail. It just means your natural pacemaker in the heart isn't keeping as precise a rhythm as the PM. For me, the steady and regular heartbeat after getting the PM felt really strange as I hadn't had a "normal" heartbeat for years. I'm pacing at 80/90% right now. Do I like the numbers, no, but my other options are pretty grim so I can live with them. Actually I'm going to have to live with them. As I said, my other options are like I said, pretty grim.

Are the pacing numbers going to get worse? Well, yes, eventually. I sit next to a 90 year old guy in church who also has a PM. In the last few years he's gone from 60 to 90% pacing. He doesn't like the numbers either but he's looking at replacing his PM in ten years. Without it he might be pushing up flowers.

Do you ever pace less? Probably not. But we don't know what medical advances are coming in the next few years. Due to the one program my PM has (APP), some changes in medication, and changes in lifestyle, I have had a reduction in afib sessions. Is it a permanent change? Don't know. No one can say. But I'm very happy to push off ablation for a while.

Exercise more. Well, yes. Any exercise is better than none. Doesn't mean you have to go to one of the health spa places and start exercising with one of those no-pain, no-gain guys. Just means the more active you are, the better. For Americans, I do a lot of walking. (The Brits may think I'm a wimp.) I also volunteer at a charity that has a woodshop. Moved a whole bunch of wood yesterday and was on my feet most of the day. So I am getting exercise. Maybe it's not defined as "exercise" but I'm moving more than sitting still. I feel better because of it. And when I start to hurt, I quit. I'm a volunteer so the pay is the same.

Tried to convince my EP that lifting a pint of Guinness when I was over in the UK would qualify as exercise but he wouldn't go for it. Those EP guys take life too seriously sometimes.

You can always call your EP and ask whatdaya think? It doesn't hurt to ask.

In the meantime, I wouldn't get hung up on the numbers. I can just imagine a future exchange of comments. "You only pace at 30%?" "Well, I pace at 80% so what your gripe?"

Hope everything else continues to go well for you.

thank you..

by cb - 2015-05-08 03:05:33

for taking the time to respond. Your perspective helps....and I really appreciate it! do you think take magnesium for the afib? does it help? I think i will get some (read about it here)...This club is the BEST. Thank you. cb

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