enba

In about a month, I will have a single chamber pacemaker implanted. I am a 90 year old male in great physical shape.I go to the gym 2-3X a week and do 100 reps on four different machines. I have had bradycardia for the past 5 years without any symptoms. Because I fear complications associated with getting a pacemaker, I have consulted three cardiologists and an electrophysiologist and they all have convinced me that I should get a PM. I also have atrial fib. My question is, "What are the odds that the PM will correct my atrial fib?" Will I feel any differently?

2 Comments

Atrial fib is tricky

by Theknotguy - 2015-07-30 04:07:09

Atrial fib is tricky. A PM, in and of itself, won't cure afib. I think the only "cure" is ablation. I went into afib with RVR and my PM just sat there and watched. Having said the above, there are several things that can be done.

There are some heart drugs that can mitigate the symptoms. I've been on several different drugs for about ten years. They don't stop the afib, but they do help.

There are a couple of PM's out there that have programs that can also mitigate afib. Medtronics is one. I think the other is Boston Scientific.

Some models of Medtronics, which I have, has APP - Atrial Preference Pacing. When it senses the heart going into afib, it puts the heart into a different rhythm. Over the course of a year, the APP has noticeably reduced my afib sessions.

There are some over the counter food supplements that supposedly help with afib. But you have to be careful with them because they can cause other problems. Like all over the counter remedies there's only word of mouth stories that say they are effective. Caveat emptor.

I don't know if the heart drugs or APP type programs will help your afib. I'm not a doctor. Nor can your doctor predict how your heart will react. There are some people for whom there is currently no help. In some cases, they have to leave you in afib. Some people have lived for years in afib. May not be what you want, but the alternatives aren't very good either.

The other thing in our favor is time and medical science. Dick Cheney wrote his book about his heart problems. By the time the book was published it was obsolete. I've had my PM for almost two years and there have been advancements in medical science since I've had my PM. So the longer we live, the better our chances are for new positive discoveries.

The guy I sit next to in church on Sundays is 90 and has had a PM for years. He also has afib although not badly. He gets along fine with the PM and heart drugs to mitigate afib. So I feel it is a success story. He got his replacement PM earlier this year and told the doctors he'd see them in ten years.

Like I said, my PM's APP program, prescribed heart drugs, and some over the counter remedies, have helped my afib. So I feel I'm a success story too. Others might not view it that way, but when you drop from an afib flutter almost every day to going several weeks without afib, it feels like a major improvement. Not a cure, but an improvement. I've been able to push the need for ablation down the road.

I can't promise you a cure, fix, or even positive results. But I do feel, based upon your description, that you will do better with the PM versus without it.

Hope everything continues to go well for you.

Medications Worked For Me

by Artist - 2015-07-30 05:07:36

My PM was implanted to treat my Bradycardia. Once my very slow heart rate was fixed by my PM which is set at 60 BP, several medications were tried before they found the magic formula to then treat my afib. The use of medications was not possible until my slow HR rate was fixed, since the medications lowered my HR even more. I virtually never feel any heart arrhythmia now and I previously had very severe and prolonged incidents. The drugs that work for me are a combination of low doses of Bosoprolol and Flecainide. They work well for me, without causing bothersome side effects. Everyone is different in how they respond to the numerous medications available. If your heart rate is going down so low at night, you probably are not getting enough oxygen and that is tied in with a propensity to develop Alzheimers disease and dementia. You probably should also get a sleep study to check for sleep apnea since that condition is common for people with heart rhythm problems and may be a contributing factor. The combination of a very slow heart rate and stopping breathing throughout the night can have a very negative impact on blood oxygen levels.

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker interferes with your electronic scale.

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I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for pacemakers. I've had mine for 35+ years. I was fainting all of the time and had flat-lined also. I feel very blessed to live in this time of technology.