when do settings get checked after implanting?

Hello, I had my PM put in on July 1 due to heart block. I think they set it for 60-150bpm. They wanted me to follow up with a new cardiologist in one week (because my old cardiologist moved to another city). I could not get an appointment until two weeks after my surgery. The cardio didn't tell me much of anything, he was just very abrupt and non-personable. I didn't ask some questions I had because they seemed "silly" in that situation. I had expected him to check the settings, but he didn't, and I don't have another appointment until Sept 17 (2.5 months after surgery). Is that normal? I was flustered at the appt and didn't think to ask him when the settings would be checked. I feel ok, sometimes I have palpitations, but I do feel like I have more stamina in walking than I have for months, maybe years. I'm very curious how often it needs to pace me. I loved my old cario so much, I wish he hadn't moved.

Thanks!

3 Comments

varies

by Tracey_E - 2013-08-11 10:08:29

It varies but if you feel good, then there's no reason to go sooner. I've always been checked before discharge from the hospital then again a few weeks later. My appointments with the doc and the pacing clinic are separate. I see the doc once a year now, the pacing rep every 3-4 months.

Normal

by golden_snitch - 2013-08-11 10:08:36

Hi!

That's completely normal and ok. Here you typically go 6 weeks later, then 3 months later and then every 6-12 months. The first couple of weeks the leads heal in, and things like the threshold can still change. It does not make any sense to adjust settings at that point. The doctor will program the settings in a way that you're always on the safe side, even if the threshold should increase a bit. And you go back when the whole situation has stabilized to get your "final" settings (for some patients those will really be the settings they'll keep, others need some more adjustments). Also, today's pacemakers have quite a lot of parameters that function automatically, if set so.

So, don't worry about having to wait till September, especially not since you seem to be doing just fine.

Best wishes
Inga

Me too

by Many Blessings - 2013-08-11 11:08:11

Hi Godzillaeyes,

I was checked before leaving the hospital, and one setting was changed at that time because of diaphragmatic pacing.

I was in the hospital for a week (they did other procedures and surgeries besides the CRT-P), so my first follow-up appointment with my cardio doc wasn't for 2 weeks post PM. I thought they'd do a PM check at that time, but my cardio doc explained he wanted to wait another couple of weeks "to let my body and heart accept the PM before making any setting changes". This might be the case for you too. It seems to be different for everyone, and depends on the doctor.

I, like Tracey, have separate appoints for my cardio check ups and PM checks. It's done in the same cardio office (we don't have pacing clinics where I live), but the PM check is done by a PM tech/rep, not the cardio doc.

Like the others said, if you feel good, there isn't a reason to change things. If you feel any weird symptoms at all (weakness in limbs, dizziness, getting out of breath, tingly, worse than you were before your PM, or just anything not right), then be sure to mention it to your cardio doc so they can look into your settings.

I see the my PM tech every 3 months and my cardio doc every 2 months (because I have other ongoing cardio problems that have nothing to do with the CRT/PM).

Take care!

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