Wire Leads

I am probably being phobic about this, but how do you know if the leads have stayed in place and not moved?

7 Comments

leads

by Tracey_E - 2015-11-06 01:11:43

If you are pacing, they haven't moved. If they're more than a few weeks old, they aren't going to move.

Follow up Appointments

by Artist - 2015-11-06 10:11:39

Your doctor will periodically do a thorough interrogation of your PM to evaluate how it is functioning and determine if there are any problems or whether the settings should be fine tuned/adjusted to more adequately meet your unique needs. Some PM members, including me, also receive monitors that are in home devices that run brief PM checks every night. I have a St. Jude PM and a Merlin Home Monitor. Usually a strong bond of scar tissue forms by 30 days post op that helps to further secure the PM to the heart wall. Leads detaching is a rare occurrence and as the knotguy says, this is usually caused by leads that were not initially implanted properly or a very traumatic and severe physical injury. Welcome to the PM club. Life is good and PMs help to keep it that way for many
people.

Wire Leads

by vegigran - 2015-11-06 11:11:26

Thanks everyone for the info. I do have a St Jude PM and a Merlin Home Monitor. I see the doctor in a month which will be 3 months from implant, so they will tell me if all 3 leads are still in place hopefully. Now TraceyE what do you mean by pacing?
Thanks

Wire Leads

by vegigran - 2015-11-06 11:11:37

Thanks everyone for the info. I do have a St Jude PM and a Merlin Home Monitor. I see the doctor in a month which will be 3 months from implant, so they will tell me if all 3 leads are still in place hopefully. Now TraceyE what do you mean by pacing?
Thanks

It's the other way around

by Theknotguy - 2015-11-06 12:11:51

Actually the question should be,"How do I know if my leads have moved."

I know you're concerned about it but past discussions on this forum have been about leads moving. It was determined the leads might move on their own if they were improperly planted. Otherwise it would take a very serious activity or shock to move the leads. Something like a major car accident. At which time you'd have other, possibly more serious, problems.

So that means the leads stay where they are unless they are 1) improperly planted, 2) moved by some serious trauma.

We have people on the forum with pacemakers engaging in skydiving, scuba diving, biking, 5K running, marathon running, mountain biking, serious physical training, and weight lifting - all without leads moving. So that means any typical, day-to-day exercise won't move the leads. Once they're in place they stay there.

I volunteer in a wood shop. I move 90 pound 4x8' sheets of 3/4" melamine. I'll also move other pieces of wood anywhere from 50 pounds down to 1.5 pounds. No problems with my leads moving. In fact, with my pacemaker, I'm doing better than I was before I had the pacemaker. My leads haven't moved since they were inserted.

There are some very rare instances of people with the pacemakers moving from the pacemaker pocket. But there are other issues involved. To answer why we have those rare instances, I'd have to be a plastic surgeon.

If, after reading this, you are still concerned about leads moving, I'd contact the nurses' hotline of you medical insurance carrier and see if they can put you in contact with someone.

Hope everything else is going well for you.


pacing

by Tracey_E - 2015-11-07 12:11:46

Is your heart rate normal? If it is, then you are pacing. If the leads have moved, they won't work. Also, when Merlin checks in, it will set off a red flag if a lead has moved.

It may seem like it happens often if you've been reading through the posts here, but it's actually quite rare, under 1%. That 1% comes here looking for answers, the other 99% are out there getting on with their lives.

Mine moved...

by heckboy - 2015-11-12 10:11:40

While weightlifting about a year after my first implantation. They say it never happens, but it did. I made sure I had extra slack in my second PM to not affect my range of movement.

You know you're wired when...

Your life has spark.

Member Quotes

Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.