Odd thumping beat /PM syndrome?

I have had my PM for almost 3 months dx'd w/ SSS. I pace in AAI mode and I have a Bos Sci Ingenio - if that makes a difference. My last pacing percentage was 82%.

Within a few weeks after getting my PM, my autoimmune diseases kicked in and to make a long (and exceedingly painful) story short I've been fighting to deal with the aftermath of a severe flare and haven't had the strength to deal with anything else.

However, I've got a follow up this week at the clinic. I will see a PA this time, my EP is out of town, my next appt w/ him is in 3 weeks when he returns. I don't know if I'm being overly sensitive about how my heart feels when it beats sometimes or if there really is something wrong, but I could use some help in determining if I'm a little crazy or not.

What I feel: It feels like my heart is pounding / pulsing with almost like this sense of fullness (?) it almost feels dyssynchronous, but I have had an event monitor and aside from an inappropriately rapid rate (between 120 and 155) the EP said everything is ok. Sometimes I feel really nauseated and I start sweating when this happens. I have to stop googling things because it almost seems like I'm having parts of PM syndrome, but I'm AAI pacing, and I don't have a lead in my V. The EP ran a full EPS prior to implanting and pronounced my AV node to be perfect.

The EP has me on beta blockers to control the rapid rates. I was having rapid rates anyway, but this beat feels different from the other rapid rates that feel dyssynchronous -if that makes sense.

So, is that feeling of fullness / nausea and low BP the PM kicking in? If so, why don't I feel this more often since I'm pacing @ 82%?

Thoughts on what I ought to tell the PA? Is this something I'm going to get used to?

Thanks,

Spunky

2 Comments

Heart thumping

by Theknotguy - 2014-10-27 07:10:08

When you first get the PM they set the voltage higher. This can lead to all sorts of feelings and may explain the "thumping" you're feeling. They will reset the voltage to a lower level a couple of months out. No big deal on resetting the PM, I was comfortably sitting in the chair when they did mine.

When I first got my PM, with the voltage set high, I'd get a big "thump" with every heartbeat. Sometimes it would wake me up at night.

In addition to the thumping I'm one of those individuals who can sometimes feel the electrical shock when the PM kicks in. That sensitivity gradually goes away as your body adjusts. I don't feel the electric impulses as much since they've dropped the voltage on my PM.

Depending upon what is happening with my body - more hydrated, less hydrated - I'll feel the PM. At other times I won't feel it at all. A lot of people on this site say they don't even know they have their PM. I almost always know it's there. So it just depends on you and your body type.

I'm very happy I have my PM. Of course my other option is being dead, so it's probably better I'm happy to have my PM.

Hope things go better for you.

Hope things go well for you.

AV node now may be an issue

by Spunky_1 - 2014-10-31 02:10:19

Thank you both so much for replying.

I did keep the appointment and I described what was happening. The results of a post-pm event monitor finally came back (more than a month after I had finished it...) and now it appears that there might be a problem with my AV node. I am now occasionally not getting the paced beat from the SA node into the AV node which is leaving me with pauses. The longer of these pauses is 2 seconds in length (so not very long), but the fact remains that the PA decided that I needed another monitor until the EP returned.

She was unsure of what this meant since my EP did a EP study prior to placing my PM. This study was the determining factor that I would be fine with a single lead.

Spunky

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