pacemaker check

i go tuesday for my check. it is eight years and i expect to be told i need a replacement. i have been really lucky that i have never had complications. i hope to get another medtronic dual lead and hope i can then have an mri if needed. i have much to be grateful for. jessie my friend karen a is eight years as well.

2 Comments

MRI safety

by golden_snitch - 2014-07-31 11:07:41

Hi Jessie!

Great to hear that you have never had any problems with your pacer. Actually, I think most patients don't, but of course in a forum like this you mostly meet those, who did run into problems, and now look for help.

If you want an officially MRI-safe pacemaker, you need to have the leads changed, too. The leads are even more important than the pacemaker unit. Old leads could cause problems, so if you want a system that the manufacturer and FDA officially approved to be MRI-safe, you'd need the old leads and unit taken out and a completely new, MRI safe system put in. Unlikely to happen, sorry. BUT most pacers are in fact MRI safe, even if they are older (any system put in after 2002) and do not have the FDA approval. There are studies from Mayo and Johns Hopkins about patients with old pacers/ICDs/CRTs undergoing MRIs, and they all came through fine - with certain precautions taken. My EP and cardio have done MRIs in patients with "normal" devices, too, and encountered no problems.

Best wishes

Inga

thanks golden

by jessie - 2014-08-01 11:08:04

thank you for the info. it really helps me to know to make a good decision. another close family member living in n.c. had emergency heart surgery for an undetected heart issue. one never knows. this was my eldest brothers eldest. age 51..this site is a wealth of information. jessie

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