Battery Life

Hi all, I have researched battery life relationship with usage on here. I am now trying to apply my understandings to my own self to plan and prepare head. Yeah, I'm one of THOSE people : )
I would greatly appreciate comments/corrections/help from you all.
When I had my 1st visit with the Medtronic Rep before my release fom hospital for PM implant, he told me I had the brand new 14 yr. model w/ updated 'bells & whistles.'
I realize 14 yrs. would be the outside, optimum life for the battery, and I shouldn't expect mine to go so long. Even so, I was greatly surprised to see, 5 wks later a projected life of 9.5 years.
I am 100% paced & sensed. Also, I had 11, 465 PVC singles, 648 PVC runs, and 17 PAC runs. This sounds like MY norm for years, Scar tissue from 5 ablations and hinky genetic cross-wiring are likely causes.
In the past, my SA node shut down completely & the ventricals took over, putting me in elevated junctional (escape) rhythm for a year, before the SA node went back on duty.
My main questions are: if the SA node were to kick back in, could the PM have a reduced load and use less battery?
Does Afib cause the PM to use more battery?
IF an unlikely event occurred and I had less PACs and PVCs, would the PM battery last longer?
Are there any websites or books where a layman can learn more about PM function and battery longevity?
Thanks in advance for any input.
~Janenotarzan

4 Comments

Yes and no

by Theknotguy - 2015-03-15 10:03:06

On your first reading you'll get a high battery life. As the PM starts being used the battery life is recalculated. I think mine went from 14 years down to 7. Then it recalculated to 9 at the last reading. All of those numbers are projected calculations. What it is going to be in actuality you'll just have to wait and see.

So the battery life may go up and down depending upon the usage. To think a battery small enough to fit inside a PM and still give you 9 years of usage is just incredible.

I sit next to a guy in church who also has a PM. He's on the 9th year. It's hard for me to imagine his battery lasted 9 years with the technology they had at the time. What we're going to have is even better.

I know some people like to plan ahead, but the best you can do is about a five year plan. After that so many variables come into play that it just isn't possible to make any good predictions.

Reminds me of the convict about to be hanged. The king is riding by. The convict calls out, "Oh great king, grant me a boon!"

The king asks, "What do you wish?"

The convict says, "Give me a year and I will teach your horse to sing."

"Granted!" says the king.

"Are you mad?" say the other prisoners. "No one can teach a horse to sing."

The convict says, "Many things can happen in a year. The king may die, I may die. And, who knows? The horse may learn to sing."

We live in an interesting time, medical advances happen daily. Who knows what will happen by the time you'll need a new battery.

Battery life

by golden_snitch - 2015-03-16 03:03:49

All these events (Afib, PVCs etc.) don't make any difference to the battery life. The pacemaker only watches them. How much you pace is, of course, of importance, but what I'd say is even more important is at what voltage (amplitude) you pace. If your thresholds are high and the pacemaker needs to pace with a stronger electrical impulse, then the battery drains more quickly than with low thresholds and consequently a low amplitude. Because of this it can even happen that someone who paces only 50% with high thresholds has a shorter battery life than someone who paces 100% with low thresholds. Where you pace is also important, because in the atria you usually require a lower voltage to pace effectively than in the ventricles. My threshold in the atria is only 0.5 V, amplitude is 1.5, while in the ventricles the threshold is 1.1 V and amplitude is 2.1 V. What also comes into play are the features that are activated; home monitoring, for instance, shortens battery life a bit.

So, don't become obsessed with battery life. It depends on many different aspects, and is subject to change. Thresholds can change, pacing percentage can change, the status of the leads can change.

Singing horses

by Janenotarzan - 2015-03-18 01:03:52

I'm very grateful for your comments golden_snitch and Theknotguy. The numbers, info, and advice were very reassuring to me.
When I first saw the decrease in projected battery life, my first thought was, "Ack! I used up 4 1/2 years in 5 wks! At that rate, I'm gonna burn this baby up in under 3 months!"
I realized right away that was skewed logic, but it still rattled me.
Your info and advice has helped me get back in a positive perspective about my time w/my new friend. I've always been an optimist, but the deluge of back-to-back medical issues these past 3 yrs. has tempered that with caution.
I realize now I've been kinda 'holding my breath' lately, expecting yet another shoe to drop; that pessimism needs to stop. I need to get back to believing in the possibilities the upcoming year may hold, up to and including singing horses.
Thank you

My battery life

by johnp5032 - 2015-03-21 11:03:50

I just had this discussion with my 'tech'. My Boston Scientific PM was installed in Oct 2010. Battery life expected: 5 yrs. Every download until this one was 5+ yrs left. This time it was 4.5 yrs. Battery life is affected by how much the PM is needed. My top lead runs 8% of the time, bottom lead is at idle. I'm ahead of the battery game.

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