Pacing with deep breaths

Hi, I am a 37 year old female, just got my pacemaker about two weeks ago. I've begun noticing I get paced (like a hard jab to the very center of the chest) if I take a very deep breath, especially if I'm lying down. Is this normal, or is this something I should call the cardiologist about? I have a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks. Thanks for your help!

2 Comments

You should always ask

by Theknotguy - 2015-05-02 10:05:00

No one dies from embarrassment so you should always give a call to the EP. We can't tell from here if there is anything else going on and the call gives the doctor a chance to weigh in on the situation.

Having said the above, if you aren't having night sweats, aren't feeling bad otherwise, and the PM pocket isn't hot to the touch, and so sore you can't touch it, it probably isn't anything.

They keep the voltage high on the PM for (I think) about 90 days to help the leads get burned in. Some people react more to the higher voltage than others.

The higher voltage makes the heart beat harder. Since your body hasn't completely healed and with the harder heartbeat, you're probably feeling it.

Sometimes I could feel the tickle, followed by the hard thump right after. The harder heartbeat would sometimes wake me up at night too. After they dropped the voltage I rarely feel the PM activate. Sometimes I still do but not very often.

Post PM, if something bad is going on you'll probably know it. Like I said though, I'd still give the EP a call to rule out anything else.

Hope you start feeling better soon.

Call the doctor

by FighterGirlxx - 2015-05-04 02:05:32

I hope you are feeling better now but have you called the doctor? It doesn't sound normal, and is obviously a concern (understandably!). No question is stupid and your EP or Cardiac Physiologists would far rather you checked with them than wait and turns out something easily fixed.

No one here can diagnose, and having not had a straightforward history myself, I can vouch that without checking with the experts, preferably in person, it is very difficult to know what is going on (and whether there is indeed anything going on, or simply one of those things).

I hope you are better soon. Hang in there - once everything is healed you will realise how good it is to have a PPM or ICD when needed.

And don't be afraid to ask anything. Far better to check and to understand things than muddle on not knowing. x

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