Tikosyn/Pacemaker

I have been on Tikosyn for about four years for my AFIB. My problem is that I can not get my heart rate above 120. When it gets around 120 my heart rate slows to 60 sometimes a little slower. during cardio rehab sessions.This problem showed up under the constant heart monitoring in rehab. Now I am getting a pacemaker and am wondering if Tikosyn is a necessary medication if you have a pacemaker.

4 Comments

The problem is the afib

by Theknotguy - 2015-12-04 02:12:22

You say you have tachy/brady. The pacemaker is there to keep the heart going because of bradycardia. Tikosyn is to slow down the heart and reduce the number of afib sessions. So you really need both.

As far as the heart rate going from 120 down to 60, that can be a setting on your pacemaker. A couple of members on the forum can give you details on that.

The pacemaker can't stop the afib. The only thing it can do is watch.

The worst case situation is if you go into afib with RVR. Then your heart rate can go out of control. When it happened to me my heart rate went from 60 up to 150 even while I was sitting in bed. Had to go to the ER to get it stopped.

There are some pacemakers that have an extra circuit in the pacemaker that can mitigate afib. They don't "cure" afib - currently the only cure is ablation. But these circuits can reduce the intensity and length of the afib sessions.

Medtronic and (I think) Boston Scientific have these circuits. The older models of Medtronics has APP (Atrial Preference Pacing). The newer models of Medtronics have Minerva. It's an upgraded form of APP.

You can check with your EP to see about the heart rate dropping so suddenly under exercise. I think there are settings that can be changed on your pacemaker to fix that problem.

I hope you can get a solution quickly.

Ablation....

by Bionic Beat - 2015-12-04 02:12:41

Ablation doesn't 'cure' AFib. At least an AV node ablation does not. It just disconnects the Atria from the ventricles.

Only my ventricles are paced, the AFib just lives its own life upstairs.

AF and pacing

by Selwyn - 2015-12-04 05:12:26

As Theknotguy says so well, the AF will stay in spite of the pacemaker. All the usual type of pacemaker will do is to increase your heart rate with exercise, provided the rate response is switched on.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) makes the heart work less efficiently and is associated with blood clot formation in the upper heart chambers that can cause strokes etc. The less AF you have, the better. You will need to take medication, and at your age some sort of anticoagulation.

The good news is that pacemakers can count the episodes and duration of your AF ( look at AMS, atrial mode switching) on your print out. This means that your medication for AF can be exactly adjusted until you get the best response.

Best wishes,
Selwyn

Thanks

by aktasman - 2015-12-05 01:12:41

The comments were very helpful. I feel better about getting my pacemaker.


Thank you

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