Just got news I need a pacemaker

Hello ,
I am a 45 yr old woman who had a monitor on due to extra beats , turns out - the extra beats are not the problem ....my heart keeps stopping for 4/5 seconds and re starting . I was told on Thursday I need a pacemaker .. I don't know what type or why my heart is stopping ? The Dr didn't say if I had heart disease or if it is congenital , just I need a pacemaker .
I suppose I just would like to know if anyone else has had this experience .. I realise I am lucky to have discovered this problem instead of just not waking up !! However I do feel conscious of every heart beat now and feel relieved to wake up in the morning ! Anyone have any info ?

7 Comments

More Aware

by Grateful Heart - 2015-04-25 01:04:21

Many of us become more aware of our hearts after we have a problem.

It's a shock at first to find out we need a PM. It helps to write your questions down for the next time you see your Doc. It's very easy to forget what you want to ask when you are in the office.

I agree, opening your eyes each morning is a blessing! You can get a 2nd opinion to ease your mind.

Grateful Heart

need for a pacemaker

by Tracey_E - 2015-04-25 01:04:43

I know it sounds scary but I believe 4/5 seconds is not generally considered problematic unless there are symptoms or it happen a lot. Can you get another opinion? Please, please do not worry that you will not wake up in the morning! If that was a possibility, they would not have let you out of the hospital without the pm.

Electrical problems are frustrating in that they often have no cause. It's a short circuit that happens in an otherwise normal, healthy heart. Our arteries are clear, our hearts are strong, but for some unknown reason there is a breakdown in the electrical signal. Know that nothing you did caused it, nothing you could have done differently would have prevented it. Occasionally electrical problems can be linked to infection, medication, surgery or genetics, but often they are a fluke and we never know why it happened. The good news is the pm can easily fix the problem. If it misses a beat, the pm sends a signal that mimics what the heart should have done on its own, the heart responds by contracting (beating).

It's not nearly as scary as it sounds and most of us who are otherwise young and healthy quickly return to our normal lives. There's nothing I want to do that I cannot. I'm a few years older than you at 48, but I got my first pm in 1994. No one would ever look at me and guess that I have a little computer helping out. If you have questions about the surgery or recovery or if you just want to chat with someone who's been there, please don't be shy! I would, tho, get a second opinion before deciding to go ahead with the surgery. First, it may not be necessary yet, and second, you might be more comfortable with a dr who is more forthcoming with information.

Be Proactive for Yourself

by PJinSC - 2015-04-25 01:04:49

Ask your doctor what is going on, in layman's terms. If he/she won't tell you, then find another doctor. IT"S YOUR HEART! One of my pet soapbox items is folks who do not demand straight answers and doctors who won't be forthcoming and truthful. Do your homework and become an informed patient and go back and make him earn his pay.
Another soapbox item of mine is folks coming here asking for medical advice that only a licensed MD should be answering. This club should be here to give support with experiences and comparisons, not to give medical analysis.
Other than that, welcome to the club. There are several members here who have campaigned for straight talk and challenged the many myths and misinformation out there about PMs. Once you learn the search feature, you can look back at many good posts (and some not so good, but well-meaning).

Good Luck and Good Life, PJ

Agree

by Jackw - 2015-04-25 03:04:54

With Tracy. How you wound up with an "electrical problem is not important. That the problem can be solved easily and with high confidence in success is. I had a somewhat similar situation. Called sinus node disorder. I was getting two beats fairly close together and then a skip of about 3-4 seconds. Doc said it was a classic indicator of SND. Had a pm two weeks ago and feel great. Gradually ramping up to my normal jog, gym workout and very active lifestyle.

I also agree with Tracy that you should have a doc who will spend the time to explain what is going on and answer questions:What kind of pm is best for me? What about an MRI compatible model in case I need an MRI later? As a woman, what about a sub pectoral placement of the PM so that it is less visible.

Also while there are no guarantees, the outcomes are better if you have the procedure done by a doc in a practice that does a lot of pm's. They will have experienced teams of nurses and techs to support them.
Remember that this is a long term relationship with the support people since you will need to have the pm parameters adjusted to fit your lifestyle and a checkup every six months, either in person or by remotely downloading data from your pm.

It is common

by Theknotguy - 2015-04-25 12:04:37

It is more common than you would think. The good news is they're catching it earlier. If you have the problem all the way up through the 1980's they probably wouldn't have noticed, or if they did, there wouldn't be too much they could do. So it's good to be alive when they can find it and do something about it.

For me, they didn't catch it until I collapsed on the trail, then was in a six day coma. Won't go into the messy details. You can search under my forum name, see my first post if you really want to know.

You'll want to look through the forum and read past posts. Remember we get a lot of malfunction questions so when you read the posts you'd think PM's are failing all the time. Reality is only a very small percentage of people who have PM's have trouble. For me, I didn't have any problem adjusting to the PM but still have problems with trauma I received prior to getting the PM and the ongoing heart problems. So keep the low statistic numbers in mind. Most people with PM's don't have any problems at all.

You'll receive a lot of misinformation about PM's. Some of it from medical people who should know better. Mine started with the discharge papers from the hospital. It's hard at first to separate fact from fiction but if you read through the forum or ask questions, people here will set you straight.

The main thing to remember is there is nothing in the typical Canadian, UK, or American household that will bother the newer PM's. You don't have to worry about refrigerator magnets, microwave ovens, TV remotes, car remotes, cell phones, turning on appliances, etc. You don't have to worry about security in stores, security in airports, security wands, or security checkpoints at most events. I do alert the people I have a PM but that's about it. I've had more problems with petty local laws than with my PM at security checkpoints.

As far as your life goes, after the initial healing, you can go back to a "normal" life. We have people with PM's on the forum who skydive, weight lift, ski, bike, run 5K's, run marathons, and do just about every kind of sports activity. It took me a little longer than most but I'm back to doing everything I did before having the PM. Actually I'm doing more that what I did before because I have a steady and regular heartbeat now.

They'll tell you not to lift your arm (on the PM side) above the shoulder for 4-6 weeks while the scar heals. Not to lift weights over 10 pounds with the same arm. It's to give your body time to heal and the scar tissue to grow. It's almost impossible for a person to "pull the leads" and detach them from the heart unless it was going to happen anyway. So if you do something you aren't supposed to, you'll pull the scar tissue and it will hurt but it probably won't do any permanent damage.

Welcome to the club. For me, after being in the coma, every day is a bonus day, every minute a bonus minute. So life can be good post PM. It's just how you look at things. A lot of people wear glasses - we don't think a thing about it. A few of us need a marvelous piece of computerized equipment to keep our heart going. And, unless we tell you, you would never know we have a PM to help us keep going. In fact, while grocery shopping this AM with the wife, she was complaining I was going too fast. Technology is marvelous when it works.

I hope everything goes smoothly for you as you transition to life with a PM. My best wishes go out for you.

Many thanks

by Juliajambutty - 2015-04-26 12:04:09

Thank you to everyone for their comments ,
I have been reading and trying to get to grips with all the jargon etc and have got plenty of questions for the doctor . I don't think the doctor was keeping me in the dark , I think he was just letting me absorb the info about what was happening to me . I had no symptoms as the events were happening during the night so the whole subject was a bit of a surprise . I had the monitor for the extra beats - so I had not considered possible causes or remedies for my heart stopping and re starting at the time to ask questions.
I feel happier talking to people who are living with pacemakers - it builds my confidence . I suppose I had only heard of people with pacemakers who were the age of my parents . The more I read , the better I feel and the more prepared I am for my next appointment and life in general !! I am so glad to have found you all !! Julia UK

Same Thing Happened to Me

by MathTeacher - 2015-04-27 08:04:12

Hi Julia,
Like Theknotguy said, this problem is more common than you think. I originally went in to get my SVT checked but found out I had SSS (Sick Sinus Syndrome). I guess that's why I was waking up gasping for air at night. My heart was stopping, and I was really getting tired of these episodes. I was shocked to find out I needed a pacemaker. I am five days post op and could feel the difference immediately. I also noticed my dog has calmed down to his normal self since I've been home with my "new heart." The last few days before my surgery, he had me worried that I wasn't going to make it to that day. It feels so good to go to sleep at night and not have to worry about my heart stopping any more.

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker interferes with your electronic scale.

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