Pacemaker Club: Angina since pacemaker inserted

Angina since pacemaker inserted

by George1939
2013-09-14 05:09:20
Complications
3924 views
2 comments

I had my pacemaker fitted after I was admitted to hospital with chest pain. An angiogram was found to show no narrowing of the coronary arteries. However, all the time I was in hospital my heart rate and rhythm were being monitored. This picked up that I had intermittent slow heart beat - dropping as low as 26 at times. I did not experience breathlessness, chest pain or dizziness. My cardiologist decided to insert a pacemaker stating that I was at risk of not only a slow heart beat but also a fast one. I had the pacemaker inserted and was started on beta lockers to prevent a fast rhythm. The first few days were fine but I now find I am suffering with significant angina after walking just short distances. My blood pressure has been fluctuating significantly. My cardiologist has stated I have small vessel angina, aggravated by the fluctuations in my Bp. My medication has been amended and I take nicorandil & nebivolol 7.5mg in the morning and Ramipril, isosorbide mono, & nicorandil at night. The rate response has also been reduced on my pacemaker but I still get the pain and the shortest of walks. Any one else suffer with this or know what I need to do?

2 Comments

Additional info

by George1939 - 2013-09-14 05:09:00

I have a dual pacing wire pacemaker inserted

go back

by Tracey_E - 2013-09-14 06:09:33

Any chest pain should be evaluated immediately. There is probably another explanation for it, but go be seen asap anyway!

You could be feeling the side effects of the medication. It takes a few weeks to get used to beta blockers and it sounds like you're on a bit of a cocktail. They make the heart beat slower, but they also lower bp and make it not beat as hard. It may go away with time. They say it takes 4-6 weeks for the body to adjust, for me it was more like 6 months until I felt fully adjusted.

Or since it's on exertion it's possible the pm settings need tweaked again. Rate response can take a few tries to find the fine line between going up as needed on exertion and not shooting up every time you sneeze. And as the beta blockers kick in, you may need the rate response tweaked even more because your heart is no longer going up as much as it wants to on its own.

Have you noticed a correlation between the bp fluctuating and when you take your meds? It would go down right after taking it, creep up again as it gets closer to time for another dose.

A hint... don't take your bp or pulse unless you feel bad. It gets too easy to obsess and stress over the numbers and spend all day with a monitor, which will affect... drum roll please... bp and pulse ;o)