Question on setting adjustment

I had a Medtronic dual chamber pacemaker put in March 2014 and had my first check up 3 weeks later and everything was fine. I went for the second follow up 2 May. At that visit the Medtronic Tech rep changed my settings so the battery would last longer.

Since then I have been more short of breath on exertion and my BP is high. I would return to my Cardiologist but he is in Florida and I am located in Northeast Pennsylvania now.

Can new settings cause this.

4 Comments

Yes new settings can cause this !

by IAN MC - 2014-05-18 09:05:46

If you felt fine before the Medtronic rep got his hands on your settings and not fine afterwards then almost definitely the settings changes have caused it.

It is tempting to second-guess what the rep may have done to preserve battery life ; he may have reduced your lower heart rate setting too much but there are other possibilities.

Best to go back a.s.a. p and get your settings put back to where they were before.

Best of luck

Ian

settings

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-18 10:05:56

It's common to take a few tries to get the settings just right, find the balance of maximizing battery life but feeling good. No two of us are alike so there is an element of guessing going on. It should be an easy fix. Are you on vacation or a snowbird? If you are a snowbird, you should get a cardiologist at both homes that has your full records.

This is why

by KAG - 2014-05-18 12:05:57

....I think it's important to get a copy of you PM interrogation report every time you go in for a check. You can easily see what they changed and make sure it gets set back to where you felt good.

Definitely not worth feeling bad to get a few months of battery life.

Settings Adjusted

by studougherty - 2014-05-24 06:05:27

Had my PM checked by a different Medtronic Tech. He was extremely thorough, explained what he was doing and made two adjustments. He also volunteered to give me a printout of the new settings, which I accepted. Believe it or not it worked out. Shortness of breath is gone and I feel great

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