Issues after pacemaker fitted

Hi

I had a dual chamber fitted 3 weeks ago and I have felt a tightness in my chest since this pacemaker fitted any one any ideas why, I have been back to cardio unit who have adjusted settings but tightness still there,

The reason in had pacemaker installed as heart was skipping a beat and also it was stopping for 5-10 secs at a time also..

Thanks

2 Comments

Tightness can be

by Theknotguy - 2015-02-25 03:02:16

Tightness in the chest can be a lot of things. If the cardio unit isn't finding anything it shouldn't be a problem. Have they also checked for blood pressure? If the blood pressure is normal that leaves you with swelling after the PM insertion.

They just cut open your chest, ran wires down into your heart, and shoved a foreign object inside your body. You don't walk away from that without feeling something.

It takes the body a few weeks to work its way through the impact of the surgery to implant the PM. It takes the body more time to adjust to the changes the PM induces. Suddenly you're experiencing a stronger heartbeat. You've possibly got more fluid circulating, and the heart is pumping better. All can give you a feeling of tightness.

You also don't say if the PM was implanted below the skin or if you had the deeper implant. A deeper implant can cause tightness too.

If you aren't in any pain, don't have trouble breathing,
and don't have a fever, I'd give it a little more time and see if it goes away. It took me a year and four months before I stopped feeling the PM in the implant site as I moved around. Some of us have more nerve endings and are more sensitive to things inside our body.

Hope this clears up for you soon.

I still feel tightness too!

by SLC - 2015-04-03 01:04:40

It's been a year now and I have tightness pretty much all the time too. I wonder if it will ever go away. I don't have much fat on my body so maybe that's why mine is so tight. Especially if I've worked out at all with weights, it can feel like it's going to rip out of my chest. Going to my electro physiologist next week. I'll see what he has to say about it. My pacemaker is not in the correct place as well. It's too far down and too far to the left, sticks out in my armpit a little bit. Time does help, so hang in there!

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I have a well tuned pacer. I hardly know I have it. I am 76 year old, hike and camp alone in the desert. I have more energy than I have had in a long time. The only problem is my wife wants to have a knob installed so she can turn the pacer down.