looking for help

Hi all my name is Ben I am 25 years old and have been having a few health problems for the last 4 months hoping someone on this site can help me. I am be investigated at the hospital at the moment for bradycardia (low pulse) there is talk of fitting me with a pacemaker which is pretty scary at 25 years old!

The symptoms that I have got dizzy spells heavy eyes fatigue confusion and not being able to concentrate I have not passed out or blacked out but feel like I have come close a few times. I feel worse when doing anything like walking house work any sort of exersion and when I sit to rest thats when the feelings come on much worse.

The doctors have done blood tests chest xrays ecgs and treadmill test they are saying I have low resting pulse some times as low as 30 beats per minute. I am awaiting a table tilt test and heart mri scan.

If anyone has had a similar experience or similar symptoms before you have had pacemakers fitted hearing from you would really help and put my mind at rest.

Cheers Ben

11 Comments

April 7

by kmom - 2014-05-01 05:05:14

I was fitted with a new little friend! It was about the best thing that's happened to me in a LONG time! I has symptoms similar to yours as well and I feel fantastic now! Welcome! there are a lot of great members here. keep us posted --don't be afraid to ask questions if you have them--Good luck to you.

Welcome, Ben

by SaraTB - 2014-05-01 06:05:46

Hello Ben, I see from your profile that you're in the UK. I'm a Brit, living in the US (just to introduce myself).

It's quite understandable that this must feel overwhelming right now - most of us never knew anyone else with a pacemaker, unless they were over 80, before we joined this forum. I got my PM at 42, as has been said, others here have had them since infancy, and many in their 20s like you. It's becoming more common, because doctors are better at identifying the issues and know how to treat it.
One of the things we say a lot at this forum is that the heart problem you have is electrical - not plumbing. So, it's not that you did anything wrong, with diet for example.
You mentioned the tests you're undergoing: have tthey had you wear a Holter Monitor, which records your heart over a period of time? This seems to be a very common way of identifying rhythm problems, so I might ask them whether it would be appropriate for you.

Bradycardia is more common that we realise, and pacemakers were developed to treat it. I'm glad you found this forum - there are planty of fellow Brits here, and its a very supportive place. We all came here with questions and understand how bewildering it all is at this stage.
Keep posting questions as you think of them, and use the 'Search' function at the top right hand side of the grey bar in the header.
Hang in there, and let us know as you progress through your tests.

been there, too

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-01 08:05:31

I had similar symptoms due to congenital complete heart block. My resting rate was in the 40's then dropped to the 30's when I was about your age. I got my first pm at 27 and could not believe how much better i felt. Not only was not tired all the time, but the dizziness went away and my energy skyrocketed. That was 20 years ago. I still feel great. If a low hr is causing your symptoms, the pm is a very easy fix. It sounds scary but most of us find that it's a lot easier than we think it will be, we feel better than expected, and once we heal we can move on with our lives and mostly forget about it. I'm in the best shape of my life.No one would look at me and see a heart patient. There is nothing I want to do that i cannot. If you have questions about the surgery, recovery, or living with a pm, don't be shy. We've all been there.

Hi Ben

by 2219kg - 2014-05-01 11:05:32

I got my pacemaker last Friday for the exact same symptoms so I can completely relate as it was just last week. I have a conginital 3rd degree heart block and my heart rate would go as low as 32 bpm at night. I am also very young. I just turned 32. I'm still recovering and the heavy eyes and fatigue have not gone away as of yet, but I can already tell that my heart isn't having to work as hard as it used to. If you have any questions please ask. Oh and ice packs are your best friend. I have one on right jow.

Good luck

Kelly

You've Come to the Right Place

by NiceNiecey - 2014-05-01 11:05:37

Hi Ben & Welcome.

When I got my PM 4 months ago, it was a complete shock, but I'm 55 years old. Had I been your age, it would have scared me to death. Thank goodness your medical providers are working on you. With an HR that low, you would have passed out sooner or later and might have been hurt quite badly. I, too, had that crazy, confused fuzz over my brain. Sometimes I couldn't do my accounting work and would just have to walk away and leave it until the next day. I just couldn't focus or think. If you should need a PM, it will be a wonderful thing in your life. It's an incredible invention that has improved our lives immeasurably.

Keep us posted on what they find and what they want to do about it. You are in my prayers.
Niecey

go for it!

by jimkirschvink - 2014-05-02 01:05:19

You will be blow away with how good you feel after getting your PM! The technology is awesome. They can even put a PM into an unborn baby. It's the best hour you will ever spend in surgery!

Jim Jim

Thanks

by ben1 - 2014-05-02 03:05:23

Hi all thanks to everyone who has commented you all have been a great help already only been a memeber less than 24 hours woke up this morning to all these brillant messages! Back at doctors for some results on a 24 hour monitor today also they want to do a ct scan on my head to rule out any rare causes of bradycardia. Think I will end up with PM they just wanted do mri first to be sure I think but everything always points back to a low pulse. Thanks again if anyone as anymore information I am all ears will keep you updated. Cheers Ben

ian

by ben1 - 2014-05-05 03:05:26

Hi ian thanks for the message I am still under going tests at the minute have got a table tilt test tomorrow and a head ct scan on Thursday to look for rare causes of bradycardia. Have got a heart mri scan end of the month then I think the decision will be made what to do next weather further tests or PM. Way I feel at the minute and not being able to work if a PM sorts me out I will have it done in a heart beat lol! Will keep in touch cheers Ben

hi

by Commando42 - 2014-05-05 06:05:54

Ben, I again was in a very similar situation to yourself, 33 year old with my hr being in the low 30's most of the time with drops down to sub 20. I had been having bradycardia in the 30's since my early 20's, but had been asymptomatic until last year, when it was in the 20's and teens. I was lucky in that I am a nurse in a and e so was able to get an ecg whenever I felt unwell, which did result in several stays in coronary care as I was throwing off some rare rhythms, which was the byproduct of the Bradycardia/Sick
sinus Syndrome. Anyway so I went through 4 cardiologists before it was decided that a pm would help. By the time I had it fitted in February, I was barely able to walk up the stairs without being exhausted and out of breath. I had my PM in February and the results are outstanding, I feel great, can run exercise, I am back working 12.5hr shifts in a and e and actually have some colour as before I was permanently cyanosed!!!
anyway my waffling aside, it is the best decision you will make, at 25 you shouldn't be feeling 95, have the pm, you will feel great, crack on with your life. ive found it to be a minor inconvenience, at most a sharp stabbing when im driving, but a seat belt pad has worked wonders. Mate, you will not regret having it done, you have one shot at life so live it to the full. Are you having it at your local District General or at tommy's ???.
regards
ian

I feel you...

by CCBlock - 2014-05-05 11:05:58

Hi Ben, reading your post was like the words were coming out of my head. I'm 32 and I'm scheduled for a PM on May 20th...and I just don't know how I got here. And I'm so scared, I don't know whether to go forward with it or not. I guess maybe I should feel lucky that I kind of have the choice to get the PM, but honestly I'd prefer if someone just told me I had to. Apparently the bradycardia I'm feeling, isn't true bradycardia it's due to the Second Degree AV Block I have. And I got the 2nd degree AV block because during my last AV ablation the EP got aggressive and accidently nicked my fast pathway while burning off the slow one....so it sucks because I think maybe I should have just tried harder to put up with my Atrial tachys and AVNRT. They tell me I could go on this way for a long time or maybe forever and not get worse...but they say the symptoms wont go away unless I get a pacemaker. Good luck to you!

Ben and CCBlock

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-06 10:05:15

Electrical problems happen, often in an otherwise healthy heart, and sometimes in a young healthy person. Ever have a new computer/tv/ipod that suddenly goes wonky while another one you bought years ago is still going strong? Same thing, electronics can go wonky. Nothing you did caused the electrical problems. Nothing you could have done differently would have prevented it. Don't beat yourself up with "why me".

Ben, it sounds pretty clear that the low hr is causing your problems. It's nice to know what's causing it,but with the exception of some thyroid conditions, it doesn't much matter the cause because the fix is all the same regardless of the cause.

CCBlock, this is just my personal opinion but even with the risks, an ablation is a better choice in a young person than being on a cocktail of drugs for life that may or may not work, or that may work now but not next year. The ablation can be a fix rather than a bandaid.

Bradycardia is a heart rate under 60, so it's a symptom more than a diagnosis. Many things can cause brady, including av block. If it's affecting your day to day life and there is a fix, what are you waiting for? I know not everyone takes that attitude but I've been in your shoes. I had a dr who didn't want to do a pm on a young patient so he encouraged me to wait as long as possible. One day my hr plummeted and I almost died, ended up in emergency surgery, freaked out my family. Not the easy way to do it, in case you were wondering! I came out of it feeling fantastic, and more than a little bitter that the dr let me sleep away two years of my life when I could have been feeling good. Just my $0.02. Life is too short to live like an old person when you're young.

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