Chest pressure when riding in the car

I had my pacer put in April 2014. Shortly after that I began having pressure part of the time when riding in the car. Not every time and not when I am driving. Stress test 3 months ago showed nothing. Now I am having some discomfort in my back part of the time. I drove 2 1/2 hours on Thanksgiving and didn't have any pressure. Does anyone else have this same trouble?

6 Comments

Same troubles

by Theknotguy - 2014-12-30 07:12:50

I always like it when people ask open ended questions then don't give us any information in either the question or their bio. It makes it really hard to give an adequate answer. I'm assuming this is your first PM. I'm also assuming there aren't any other mitigating circumstances that would cause you to have problems.

After my PM was implanted, I had all sorts of twinges, bump, thumps, and weird feelings. That included pain going up into my jaw. Later I would have pain in my back, directly behind my heart. Tests, of course, showed nothing. My EP would just shrug and tell me it wasn't my PM.

As for the problems in the car. Your first comment about riding in the car may have happened shortly after receiving your PM. Believe it or not, riding in a car is worse than driving it. While riding, you have to brace yourself from every direction. You have to react to the motion of the vehicle, bumps in the road, swerving, acceleration, deceleration, all sorts of movement. While you may not think it takes a lot of muscular activity, it really does. Using muscles that are sore from a PM implant can give you a feeling of pressure.

When driving a car, you have control over what is happening. You're also bracing yourself behind the steering wheel, so you get less shaking, and being thrown about. Also, since you are driving, you are more aware of bumps, etc because you see it as you are driving and are able to unconsciously brace yourself.

I've had discomfort in my back when I woke up in the hospital after having my PM implanted. That discomfort has continued for over a year. Question is if it was some injury I received just before I got my PM. My EP, of course, says the PM, implant procedure, or having the PM can be causing the problem. But the pain is still there.

The PM is a foreign object inside your body. While we, for the most part, can ignore it, but having a foreign object inside the body can give us all sorts of weird feelings. Since we have the PM inside our body, we can understand that. For people who don't have foreign objects inside their bodies, it is impossible for them to understand what we feel.

If you aren't in serious pain or aren't running a fever, you can mostly ignore the various pains. Some will go away, new ones will crop up, some you'll have for a while. Some of mine have lasted for over a year. Since my other option was being dead, I don't complain.

pressure

by Alma Annie - 2014-12-30 09:12:29

Where do you live? Depending on what side of the car is the driver's seat. I drive sitting on the right and have no problem, but I do as a passenger as the seat belt is uncomfortable, even with padding, as I am somewhat thin and the pm sticks out and also the leads.
As for your back, I also find sitting hurts my back, but that has nothing to do with pm. I wonder if you are tensing up, that can cause a problem. Try to relax.
AlmaAnnie



Bumps

by Foofyden - 2015-01-04 12:01:58

I had very uncomfortable rides both as passenger and driver and found it was on rougher surfaces. I had read somewhere that some pacemakers with rate regulators can misinterpret the bumping for movement and up your HR. Relaxing and accepting new feelings helps. 2 years later can't say as I notice this happening anymore. So many things just take time not just weeks or days but perhaps years to feel normal.

Pressure/Pain while in car

by nhhouston - 2015-01-06 09:01:58

I've had a pacemaker since April 2014. I've a stent and 2 bypasses before that. I'm 81.
Just a little more info about the pressure/pain I'm having while in a car. I have a pacemaker checkup tomorrow afternoon. I want to go in with some ideas as to what may be causing my chest feelings. Here are the facts:

1) It only happens when I'm in the car or immediately after I get out of the car.
2) It doesn't happen every time I'm in the car. I took a long 8 hour drive two ways and never felt anything. I can take a 10 drive to church and feel plenty of pressure.
3) It only started AFTER I had the pacemaker put in.
4) There is some pressure sometimes in my back and on the right side while driving as well.
5) It happens mostly when I'm the passenger.

I'm gathering all your suggestions and taking them to discuss tomorrow. Please keep sending me your experiences about pressure or pain while driving only.

Thanks!

Chest pressure when riding in car or on ATV

by jimlab - 2019-07-14 14:53:54

Hi, new member here with St. Jude PM, December 2016.  I have noted when riding ATV the tightness in my chest when hitting a bump.  Just goes away.  Rode as a passenger in a pickup truck for about 50 miles.  We were pulling a big load so minor bumps in the road were frequent and hard feeling.  For the 50 miles, I had the tightness in my chest and my heart rate went to 131 during the trip and was still there an hour later.  Now for my question.  Has anybody taken a look at brands of PM's when they experience the tightness when riding?  Again, mine is a St. Jude PM2240.  Thanks,  Jim

More on my comments

by jimlab - 2019-07-25 22:37:30

I went to a new cardiologist this last week.  They scanned the pacemaker for the history and on the day I was riding in the truck, it showed I was in A-Fib for about 5 hours.  So some new meds (blood thinner) and will see what happens.  My previous MD suggested I had a pinched nerve in my back that was causing the problem.  Needless to say, will be leaving him behind.  Jim

You know you're wired when...

You can hear your heartbeat in your cell phone.

Member Quotes

Good luck with your surgery. It will improve life amazingly.