Atrial fibrillation

Good Morning my friends...

This is where it's at... 16 days after my PM implant.

6/6/12.....checked into hospital with low heart rate..as low as 28. Scheduled for surgery that same afternoon.

6/8/12....released from hospital. Pacemaker Tech used wand and programmed PM into system. Visited by DR who implanted PM, Cardio, & GP.

6/13/12...Went to Pacemaker Clinic for check. No check done...just talked. No Merlin yet..will order...Come back in 4 weeks.

6/14/13....Went to GP. Blood Pressure 158/110. Prescribed new med, + water pill + baby aspirin.Come back in 4 weeks. Continue watching BP
.
6/17/13....BP came down...still having shortness of breath and heart rate still between 135 & 140. Called PM Clinic, was told machines at store not accurate, should learn to take myself by counting. Too fast..I couldn't nor my hubby or daughter!

6/21/13....Heart rate still the same....family getting very concerned. Called clinic twice, answering machine.
Husband won't wait! Packs me up and takes me in to the clinic. I told the desk "I don't have an appt., but I have a new PM and very short of breath. Need to have it checked. They fit me in. PM Clinic Tech takes my info, uses Paddle and checks the PM. The sheets start printing out....she says over 10 days...this has been happening. I have Atrial fibrillation. Now what??? The tech says she will have to contact the Dr who implanted PM as my Cardio is on vacation! Luckily, he is in the building and will fit me in. New news...he doubles my BP med to 2 a day, puts me on a blood thinner, stops the baby aspirin, stops my Arthrotec for arthritis and says I can use Tylenol. Next step, I will have to have some kind of
tube down my throat to see if I have any blood clots in my heart and then will shock my heart to reset it!

My concern....why wasn't this noticed before they discharged me from the hospital? The PM Tech put it all in his machine..didn't he notice?...why didn't the clinic check my PM the first visit I went in for a PM check?....and told if I had had the Merlin it would have alerted them that something was wrong...No Merlin 10 days after my surgery?? Still none.

Any comments?
Thanks,
Connie



7 Comments

AFib

by ms.shalimar - 2013-06-22 03:06:05

Hi Cathy, The first showing of AFib was on the day I went home. She didn't tell me what time it was, but the 8th was when it started. Thanks

AFib

by TalkinCardio - 2013-06-22 03:06:22

Hi Connie, It's quite possible that you were not in AFib while you were in the hospital. I guess you would have to request copies of your hospital records if you wanted to know for sure. However, for you to go to your PM clinic for your first appt post implant and they didnt even do an interrogation of your PM is concerning to me. It doesnt make any sense to me but maybe others on here will think differently??

Keep us posted,
Cathy

a fib

by LS - 2013-06-22 05:06:44

I still have a fib 3 and 1/2 years after the PM. From what I gather, one has nothing to do with the other? I'm on all sorts of different meds to help the Afib, but still have it.
Last check up he talked about an ablation.
Hope you find some answers. Liz

Afibs

by clarencio - 2013-06-23 02:06:04

Angrysparrow--
I have never heard of food triggers for Afib????

Could you tell me more about it. How about a couple samples of your experience??

I have about 2000 Afibs a month and I had no idea about food triggers.

clarence

afibs

by KathyB - 2013-06-25 07:06:14

Hey there. You had your pacemaker inserted for tachy/brady or SSS sick sinus syndrome. That means your natural pacemaker in your atria is not working properly so you will either be very slow in different rhythms such as bradycardia (slow) or a junctional rhythm. Your tachycardia (fast) will usually be an atrial fibrillation. That is how mine does it but due to being able to be placed on meds to slow down and regulate so I don't go into atrial fibrillation with fast rate so if my heart goes real slow then the pacemaker clicks in. So far I have not gone into atrial fibrillation since the pacemaker was placed and I am on Flecanide. As far as the Merlin, that machine only checks your heart on a pre set date that you will get an itinerary of the days that are set for you, but you can send out anytime you want if you think there is a problem and it will read you and send it to your doctor. With the St Jude pacemaker that you have, it is like mine, so it is wireless and they do not have to put a wand over you. It is just sitting on their desk and picks up all the info. Hope this helps you out. Take care, you will be fine, sometimes it just takes some fine tuning.
Kathy

re:afibs

by ms.shalimar - 2013-06-25 08:06:12

Hi Kathy, Again, thanks for your response. I'm afraid without a translator I still don't know what all of this means. I do see Dr Walker Thursday, and have him to explain what all this means.

About the Merlin...Altho the St Jude PM Tech told me I would have one at home.....I don't have one...they never gave, shipped, or otherwise supplied me with one.

They told me the merlin had to be plugged into the phone line and set nearby up to 12 feet. She also told me it would do something every nite between 2 & 3 am....and if I wasn't in the room at that time it would catch me when I came in to make the bed.

The box in the PM Center isn't plugged into anything..just sitting on the counter. Is it a different model than mine?

I sure hope I get some answers Thursday...I am useless right now. I am like I have run a marathon when I walk from one end of the house to the other...pull the sheets up to make the bed, etc. My heart rate still running about 130 bpm.

Thanks again,
Connie

Merlin

by KathyB - 2013-06-26 10:06:13

Sorry you are having these issues. As far as Merlin, it took almost 4 weeks before it was delivered to me. As for the nightly thing everything I read in my pamphlet or on the web site talks about my scheduled appointments. Oh well, hopefully someone else with the Merlin will post. When Travis checked my pacemaker (St Jude Rep) he just had his machine on a table and there was a receiver sitting next to it. When he made me walk to check my rates and I was out of distance from him he held the receiver towards the way I was walking and it picked it up. Dr Manyam's office puts a wand onto my chest to check it. I too was out of breath in the beginning when I would walk cause the pacer is set to jump up to 110 when I start activity and it made a rapid drop back to 70 when I stopped the motion and that is what got me. Travis then made it so it didn't slow down as fast and it helped greatly. Let me know how you are doing and hope all goes well
Kathy

You know you're wired when...

You play MP3 files on your pacer.

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