Pacemaker Mediated Tachycardia

Hi,
I have been having numerous symptoms lately concerning my pacemaker. I have been told that I am having runs of pvc's which the pacemaker reads oddly and gives me PMT (pacemaker mediated tachycardia). Has anyone dealt with this problem and found a solution.
I get pounding and shortness of breath with activity.

2 Comments

PMT

by golden_snitch - 2014-04-24 05:04:29

Hi!

Your pacemaker most likely has a feature to prevent pacemaker mediated tachycardia, but in the nominal settings it's not always switched on. So, first I'd make sure that this feature has been activated. If you still get episodes of PMT even with the feature switched on, re-programming certain settings such as the PVARP, atrial sensitivy, pacing mode might help. The aim is to prevent retrograde p-waves from being sensed by the pacemaker. If no re-programming helps, you could try drugs to stop/reduce the PVCs, and also to slow the retrograde VA-conduction down.

Has your cardio tried any of that? Has he had a pacemaker tech/rep come in and help him?

Best wishes

Inga

PMT

by Peg1214 - 2014-04-24 09:04:09

Hi,
Thanks for all the info. The pacemaker I currently have does not have a way to prevent the PMT from happening. I was told by pacemaker standards my pacemaker has old technology. It was replaced in 2009, and I still have a year of battery life.
The doctor has adjusted the setting on two different occasions, and I am scheduled again next week. He said that if this setting doesn't work that beta blockers will probably need to be started to prevent the pvc runs.
My one question is concerning the runs of pvc's. I know everyone gets the occasional pvc, but the runs of pvc's along with the shortness of breath all happen with exertion. Do you think that is all caused by the way the pacemaker is responding to the pvc runs?
This is my second pacemaker, and I have had one since 2005. I sometimes feel that once you have a pacemaker everyone overlooks everything else and always makes the assumption that any and all problems are related to the pacemaker. I don't want to mask an underlying problem with the beta blockers.
Thanks for your input.

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