lead displacement Q&A

Hello All - I would appreciate very much if some of you who have experienced lead displacement would tell me how you knew that was the issue. I've experienced it 2 x with my Bi-vent pacemaker. First time I woke up on the floor, 5 days later in the hospital someone decided to look at the xray they took day 1. The second time all of the same side effects came back. I'm currently experiencing consistantly inconsistant issues similar to lead displacement yet the X-ray doesn't coincide this time. Just wondering how others have felt when they were "unplugged "? I think I might be feeling my lead flipping around as if it gets loose temporarily ( has yet to happen at the doctors office ). ANy and all feed back greatly appeciated.

3 Comments

Interogation

by donb - 2013-09-12 03:09:43

Looks like an at rest introgation did not show anything just as my last test. A stress echo was in order for me also but my Medtonic Tech Rep insisted my pacemaker was "just Fine". Sure was, even my resting rate was @ 60 while he did my interogation. I have had the experience of being without my pacemaker because it was removed for 60 days years back & my heart's memory function kept my HR in complete control. As I'm not PM dependant I had a repeat of PM removal a few months ago & again my heart rate at rest or activity was rock solid for 30 days & then gradually slipped back into 2nd degree block leaving my HR in the 30s' at rest.
I want to send you a private message of how I did a sleep study of my heart's function. I'll explain how my Dr almost lost it as he exclaimed, "You DID What" !! after i had told him of my self-sleep study.

DonB

by coolartist - 2013-09-12 10:09:22

DonB. Thanks for your insight. I THINK I have an awsome EP guy. He is continually keeping in touch trying to figure out why I feel "unplugged" at times. He did a Patch monitor and only found Pvc,s and plenty of them. They say that's what I must be feeling, He doubled my Lo presser, that simply turned the volume down. He looked with a Flora thing, we looked, and he said everything looked in place. He ordered a bike stress echo. (pending )
The interrogations show everything is working perfect. All 3 leads perform on command. But they showed the same thing 2x before when my leads WERE out. So I have no faith in the interrogation machine
. My point is, I only feel these bouts of a fluttering so inconsistantly it's screams equipment failure. Sometimes I can walk forever, others times 2 blocks kicks my ass and I have to stop. So you suggest being persistant with my EP guy. My mind says my lead is slipping in and out of place. Should I propose that question to him ? The unexplainable can be so exhausting !

Lead Failure

by donb - 2013-09-12 12:09:48

Hi, As one other member posted "How long is a piece of string"? As I'm an old pacemaker veteran I also had my atrial lead malfunction from day 1 of my 4th replacement & leads. This was 11/09/12 while still recovering in my room my monitor showed my resting HR as 50. I knew they replaced my pacemaker with settings of 60 for my low limit.
After only a few months like FEB 2013 this replacement pacemaker again eroded & I ended up going to a top EP who found by interigation that indeed my atrial lead was not sensing my normal atrial beat & my pacemaker was not doing a thing. Upon removal of pacemaker & leads infection showed in my site & also lead tips attaching to my heart wall.
After reading your post an X-Ray (which I had also) naturally would not show a good positive lead to heart wall connection. You may have already had an interogation but again being intermittant would be hard to find. Hopefully a good EPwill find your problem as an EP is needed to solve electrical problems. I spent a lifetime of 60 years doing elctronic maintenance & intermittants in our bodies are even worse to track down sometimes. By the way we just had a 17 year old gal have 4 surgeries in the 1st month of her pacemaker life getting leads properly attached & working in her heart & doing great now. Goog Luck!!
DonB

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