What happens. ?
- by Celast
- 2015-02-06 09:02:19
- Complications
- 1786 views
- 7 comments
What happens if your pacemaker suddenly stops,
Do you just die, had my pacemaker about 8 weeks now and I have wondered ever since having it fitted
7 Comments
Generally speaking, you will go....
by donr - 2015-02-06 09:02:02
....back to the way you felt just before they put it in. If you were alive at that point, you will continue to be alive, feeling the same way. If you were dead before they put it in....whoops, they don't put them in dead people.
Now, there are caveats to this general statement - IF they did something like do an ablation that killed your Atrio-Ventricular Node (That makes the ventricles contract) & completely killed it, leaving you with no capability for an "Escape Rhythm," an electrical signal that the AV node can generate when all else fails, you would die. THAT, HOWEVER is extremely rare to have occur. Those people are called "Totally Dependent" on their PM. You did not tell us what your dependency status is, so i cannot answer that question.
Do not worry about your PM just quitting. they are that reliable. They have the same electronic technology i them as th computers used to go into space & control the equipment that crawls around on Mars or the moon, or makes a multi year trip out to Uranus & Pluto.
BTW: your question is one that a lot of people ask when first becoming a host for a PM/ICD.
Don
Important Info....
by donr - 2015-02-06 10:02:30
....that changes the whole answer - MAYBE!
You will have to ask your Dr if your node was completely killed - not likely - and if you still have an underlying intrinsic/escape rhythm. MOST people do have the escape rhythm - even after an AV node ablation.
The two nodes in the heart - Sinus Node (SA) that controls the Atria & the AV node are not nodes as we think of them, Say node to most people & they visualize a single, sharply defined point on a network. These nodes are kinda smushed out over a general area, so it is difficult to totally kill a node by ablation. AND - they can partially regenerate themselves.
Donr
Ablatio
by Celast - 2015-02-06 10:02:32
I had a ablation prior to it being fitted, does that knock out the electrical nodes you refer too ?
No...you will not just die
by Grateful Heart - 2015-02-06 12:02:31
Even if you are totally dependent. Our devices are very high tech little computers with all kinds of safety measures in place.
When your device is interrogated, among the many checks there is always a check for an estimate of how long the battery has left. Near the end of the battery life, it will go into what is known as ERM first. ERM stands for elective replacement mode. That will last usually at least 3 months before it then goes into EOL....end of life....for the BATTERY.... NOT YOU and that lasts another 3 months or so. Your Doctor will not wait until the very end before he replaces your pacemaker.
That is an important question most of us wonder about...until we learn about our devices. Ask your Doctor about it to ease your mind.
Don....tell Celast he can come out from under the bed now.
Grateful Heart
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by Zia - 2015-02-06 02:02:40
are correct. Actually that little gadget is more reliable than our own bio hearts, so don't worry yourself into a tizzy LOL