quandry

I am a 90 yr old male in very good shape for my age. I work-out 2-3 x a week and have no symptoms; i.e., difficulty breathing, chest pain,, palpitations, dizziness, etc, I have had bradycardia for the past 5 years and had no typical symptoms that would warrant getting a pacemaker. Taking into consideration all of the possible risks of having or not having a pacemaker, I would appreciate some help making the decision

Enba

5 Comments

enba

by zawodniak2 - 2015-07-21 03:07:28

As long as you do not develop other issues which
might make getting a pace maker not a wise decision, I would not hesitate if the bradycardia is starting to interfere or endanger your quality of life. Sounds like you are in a good state of health whereby you will be out of the hospital in one day and with the exception of some soreness at the incision site, you would be better off as the pace maker will not let your heart rate dip into the Bradycardia zone--generally less than 60 bpm.

Good luck,
Rodger

Hi Enba

by IAN MC - 2015-07-21 08:07:41

I agree with Patch and , in your position, being symptom-free I wouldn't have a PM yet

BUT I would want to know how low your heart rate is falling. Some Drs define bradycardia as anything below 60pbm which is crazy because many people have resting heart rates well below that and lead normal lives.

Normally symptoms don't appear until HRs fall below 50 but many people tolerate much bigger falls

However the other side of the argument is that your first symptom may be a faint which is not desirable; has your cardiologist told you how near to reaching fainting levels you are ? Also is your bradycardia worsening ?


Best of luck

Ian




Better safe than sorry

by Blomsterpigen - 2015-07-21 08:07:44

I am a 67 year old female, have had my first PM since Christmas 2000. I had no symptoms, but Holter monitoring showed heart rate of down to about 32 in several long lasting bouts during the night. I have been an active member of the Danish Voluntary Home Guard Police unit since 2008 and spend over 500 hours yearly in activities plus training the members in my unit in crossfit, weightlifting, boxing, running etc. I drive across the country for the Police, train on the range, field exercises, stand guard during Police investigations after murder, fires etc. Help with all kinds of traffic controls during sports events, concerts, marches etc.

Only on rare occasions when I am really tired or while firing the rifle, do I feel my PM working. Or if I wake up during the night when it is saving my life. I am getting my PM replaced some time this year, since it is now "aging" - fantastic battery lasted for so far 15 years.'

As the implant is done in local anesthetic. there is hardly any complications to encounter. Keep the wound clean and keep from hard work for 4 weeks, Then on you go to enjoy life.

Hope you make the best decision for yourself :-)

What does your Dr say?

by PeteFindlay - 2015-07-21 11:07:19

Don't know where you are - maybe in the US? I'm not sure I'd consider an elective PM implant, as opposed to one required and/or advised by a medical professional, if it were an option under whatever your healthcare / insurance system is (I'm in the UK).

Although I'm younger than you, I also had symptom-free bradycardia, with a resting heart rate below 50. However, a routine ECG, followed by a 24hr Holter monitor test showed Type 2 Heart Block, with an overnight rate dropping to the 20s. So I had a PM fitted about 15 months ago. The up-side is that after a couple of months rehab, it hasn't stopped me doing anything, and I'm fully fit.

Downside is... it may be a routine procedure done under just sedation and local anaesthetic, but it is STILL invasive surgery on the heart, which carries (albeit low) risks of complications. I don't think I'd go for it without a good reason.

If you're concerned, I'd be looking for some tests to see if there's anything more than just bradycardia to worry about. (Heart block, excessively low HR), then see what the medical advice is based on that.

I sit next to a 90 year old

by Theknotguy - 2015-07-21 12:07:33

I sit next to John, a 90 year old in church every Sunday. He has a PM and the battery went bad earlier this year. We were discussing his PM replacement because the battery was dropping below 2 volts. He found out the PM would only pace the atrium at 2 volts. Told me that one Sunday.

The next Sunday I asked how things were going and he told me he had his replacement PM put in Tuesday. On the way home from getting a replacement he stopped and did some grocery shopping. "Shouldn't have done that.", he said.

During the replacement procedure one of the doctors said, "You've got ten years until you need a replacement.", he said. "See you in ten years!", said John. "No you won't!", said the doctor. "Why not?", said John. "I'm going to retire in five!", said the doctor.

Currently there is no scientific reason why we can't live to ages of 120 to 125 years. If you read the newspaper articles, we've had some people make it to 115. With modern medicine, nutrition, lack of wars, containment of disasters, no reason why someone can't make it to 125.

If you're otherwise in good health, even at age 90, no reason not to go ahead and get a PM if you need it.

Hope things continue to go well for you.

You know you're wired when...

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Member Quotes

I've seen many posts about people being concerned about exercise after having a device so thought I would let you know that yesterday I raced my first marathon since having my pacemaker fitted in fall 2004.