Blood pressure

Hello Again. I am six weeks to the day post-op and my pacemaker is pacing away. My atria is beating on it's own 100% and the ventricular lead is pacing 91% of the time. However the issue that started this whole journey has not been resolved at all! I am still short of breath every time I climb stairs or when I bend over and sometimes just reading a book out loud to my little granddaughter. I also have a heavy feeling in my chest pretty much all of the time and I am just really tired of it all. I saw my PCP Wed and he is sending me to a cardiologist. While at his office my BP was really high and I usually have pretty good BP so the nurse looked at my chart and said that it had never been that high before so she rechecked it and it was still high. she said she would check it before I left but we both forgot so I checked it today and it was 148/98! I thought about going to the ER but I've been there 3 times since my implant and they did not do anything other than a CT to rule out a bloodclot in my lungs. At that point frustrated and having sharp pain with breathing since the implant, I went over to a Seattle Hospital and they thought it was pericarditis and put me on 2400mg of ibuprofin which I took for several weeks. I really don't want to keep taking it. What the heck am I supposed to do choose between my heart and my kidneys? Ok guess I just really needed to vent.

5 Comments

so far . . .

by stormynw - 2014-06-28 06:06:51

So far the Dr who implanted my pacemaker is too laid back and either doesn't really listen or is just not concerned enough with what I've told him. He cleared me to see me in a year. (I have the home monitor that will be used every 3 months).
I am not sure what an EP is??
My PCP is sending me to a cardiologist. I'm waiting for the referral to go through. I still believe it is pericarditis. Realizing that everything we read online needs to be taken with a grain of salt and that it is not all necessarily accurate. If you read LIVESTRONG.com Pericarditis & Climbing Stairs
That describes exactly what I am going through so now I just have to wait and see what happens at an actual Cardioloy appointment. I had a cardiologist administor the initial Stress Echo at the hospital but that was the only time I saw him. I had mistakenly thought the Dr who did the implant was a cariologist but he works at the hospital and pretty much ALL he does id pacemaker implants. So onward and upward :) hopefully I'll get this figured out sooner than later.

Not Feeling Well

by Many Blessings - 2014-06-28 11:06:03

Hi StormyNW,

I don't have any experience with high blood pressure, so hopefully others will have some good suggestions there. But, as far as PM or cardiac issues go, have you been back to see your EP who did the procedure for your PM and discussed these problems with him/her?

My PCP admits right up front he is not comfortable making decisions as far as my cardiac problems because "I'm a GP not Cardio/EP doc and won't pretend to know a lot about this". Don't mess around. I would call your cardiac or EP doc to see what they can come up with. They know about BP and cardio problems, especially if they're related to each other.

Since you're only 6 weeks into this, some of your issues could be your body trying to get used to how things are being ran now, a setting or settings that need to be adjusted, new medications, or it could be something more serious that needs to be checked out. I have one lead that isn't in a good place, but can't be changed due to scarring from previous OH surgeries. Have they looked at your lead placement? It could be any of the above, or something totally different that someone else will bring up later. Don't ignore things when you know something isn't right. Keep bugging them until they come up with an answer.

In the beginning, my cardio doc didn't want to make PM setting adjustments for a month or so, just to give my body time to settle down with the PM (I have a CRT/P with AV node ablation). After that, they did make a couple of adjustments (turned rate response off, experimented with changing the rate, turned leads down because of diaphragmatic pacing, etc.) It took a few tries to get it right. But, when they got it right, I felt SO much better. Have they changed any of your settings yet? Most of us were set with standard settings that weren't right for us.

I also had issues with one of the medications they gave me to help me sleep (Percocet). It made me feel horrible, with really strange side effects (which I found out was common for that drug). Between stopping the Percocet (I wasn't on it long), letting my body adjust to the CRT, and getting the settings right, it made a HUGE difference. Are you on any new medications?

Don't give up! Whether it's cardiac related, PM related, or something else, they will figure out what's going on. Again, call the EP doc who did your procedure and/or your cardio doc. Make an appointment with your PM Tech as well to see what they think may be going on. Your PM Tech is used to hearing a lot of questions and symptoms. They can be your best friend through this.

Good luck and hang in there! I know it sucks right now, but things will get figured out, I promise, promise, promise you!

Prayers that you feel better soon!

PS:

by Many Blessings - 2014-06-28 11:06:25

I just noticed another individual Candy9 just posted a post that mentioned her blood pressure. You might want to check out her "Chiropractic Treatment" post and watch the comments that she gets as well.

EP

by Many Blessings - 2014-06-29 09:06:38

An EP/Electrophysiologist is a cardiologist who specializes in electrical problems of the heart and arrhythmias. I had to go to an EP to get my CRT and AV Node ablation.

My regular cardiologist handles my cardiac problems as well as my arrhythmia and electrical problems, but once things got worse and they started talking heart transplant, I was sent to the EP.

Who put in your PM? Was it your cardiologist? I'm not sure what the norm is for PM follow up, but I'm sure it depends on your cardiac issues, history, and prognosis.

I have to see my cardiologist every three months, and my PM tech every three months as well. My EP doc sees me once a year now, unless there are issues.

Hopefully, when your referral goes through and you get to see your cardiologist, he/she will confirm it's pericarditis and you can get treatment.

Keep us posted!



HI Stormy

by NiceNiecey - 2014-06-29 09:06:43

First, don't panic over the BP; it's not at a dangerous level. Don't let it go but just know that you're ok for the moment. High BP causes problems over time.

It's very possible that they'll give you a beta blocker. It will help with the BP and possibly with heart-related issues.

Don't you hate when a doctor is sooo laaaiiid back? It's all run of the mill for them but for you, it's all new! And BTW, I also get short of breath and sometimes crazy rhythms when I bend over. Steps are still a bit of an issue with SOB too.

You're very early into this journey and in time, things will get adjusted. Keep asking, complaining, whatever it takes to get it right.

While it's not necessary to go the ER for your BP at its current rate, you did the right thing going the other times. I had to do it too, as did many others. And you SHOULD NOT have sharp pains. Go back to your cardiologist.

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