New member, kind of confused

've never had any symptoms or anything odd on an ECG. I had a normal ECG at an annual checkup in early November 2015. My regular doc wanted to put me, at age 59, on a weight loss and exercise program, but I guess he worried about my excess weight and insisted on a 24-hour Holter monitor before he'd let me really exert myself. I wore the monitor for 24 hours, mailed it in for analysis, and a few days later got a frantic call from the head of the cardiology practice saying come see me this instant and pack a bag. Your heart stops all the time. While you're asleep it stops for a few seconds at a time, but didn't you notice at 11:30 in the morning last week when it stopped for 10 seconds? Uh, no, I didn't even feel faint, yet I was wide awake at the time. Anyway, they slapped a pacemaker in me the next morning, December 17.

The installation was surprisingly non-painful. The only mild discomfort I feel after 3 days is when I lean way over to pick lettuce; it's a faint achiness sort of in my throat, really weird. Is that my imagination, or can you feel something from where the lead snaked through the veins and went into the heart? I guess I'll call the doc tomorrow (Monday) and ask.

It's still a bit difficult to adjust to this, because I never felt anything, and I don't understand at all how my heart could have stopped for 10 seconds while I was awake without my noticing. I have a natural resting heart rate upon waking every morning of between 55 and 60, which I thought was fine. Apparently it also drops to 34 in the night, which is a little odd. My father also had bradycardia and a pacemaker, though in his case when he was almost 75. Well, what the heck, it seems unlikely to hurt me, and if my heart really was stopping, it's nice to know this will take care of it. But I still can't help wondering if it was all a terrible mistake.

Well, hey, I hit my deductible for the first time in my life, so insurance is actually paying for something, woo hoo.

6 Comments

Welcome to the club

by Theknotguy - 2015-12-21 01:12:12

Welcome to the club. A lot of the members on this forum were going along with their lives, then suddenly had everything changed. Not uncommon. They woke me up in the hospital and told me I had a PM. Surprise!!!

As for the heart stopping, you probably had that for a while and didn't know it. Possibly your Father had the same problem and didn't know it either. It's just they didn't have the equipment to find it at the time.

Now you can look forward to a "normal" and a better than normal life because the PM will make sure your heart doesn't stop. Is it a terrible mistake? No.

You have the normal 4-6 week recovery period. Then you can look forward to settling down to not paying any attention to your PM - other than the standard check ups. One of the people I know with a PM doesn't even know what kind he has and doesn't pay any attention to it except for the regular check ups. He's very happy that way.

As far as feeling things during the first few weeks, that's normal. Not all the swelling has gone down yet and that makes things feel weird.

If you look through the posts on the forum you'll see people leading "normal" and better than "normal" lives with their PM's. The pacemaker is a help and not a hindrance. Hopefully you'll discover that quickly.

If you do have questions there are a lot of people with a lot of knowledge on this forum.

I hope everything continues to go well for you.

It is amazing

by Theknotguy - 2015-12-21 02:12:59

It is amazing that out bodies can become accustomed to all sorts of strange things. I was with a person who had smoked for 65 years. She was on a pulse/o2 hookup in the hospital. Normal O2 for most people is 98/99. We get stressed if the O2 drops to 90 or below. Because of the long term smoking her O2 had dropped to 55. Most people would have been in severe distress. She felt fine.

With your genetics and being accustomed to it, it is possible your heart stopped that long and you didn't feel a thing. Good thing your heart did restart, mine didn't.

I had a very irregular heartbeat. It felt really strange after I got the pacemaker to feel a regular and steady heartbeat after having gone so many years without one.

I do hope things continue to go well for you. Looks like you are recovering nicely. Hang in there.

Thanks

by WendyLaubach - 2015-12-21 03:12:08

I imagine I will settle down and do fine. And if all I'd had was little flutters, I can see how maybe I wouldn't have noticed them. But seriously--my heart stopped for 10 seconds and I didn't feel it? Doesn't my brain need oxygen like everyone else's? Shouldn't I at little have noticed a little something, right in the middle of the day while I was walking the dog or cooking lunch? It seems to me I should have gone down like a puppet with cut strings. I can't help wondering if the monitor wasn't faulty. The cardiology couldn't explain that, and I haven't been able to find anything like it online. But he has a good reputation and I keep telling myself he knows how to read a chart. Still, everyone else who gets a pacemaker has some kind of symptom to support--if not symptoms over time, then at least one dramatic event where they wake up with doctors giving them worried looks or something. For me: nothing. Don't think I'm complaining; it's great never to have felt unwell. I'm just confused.

not feeling it

by Tracey_E - 2015-12-21 05:12:29

If it came on gradually, it's entirely possible that you adapted and compensated to the point where you didn't realize how bad it had gotten. That happened with me. I was amazed at my energy levels after, what I'd grown accustomed to was nothing close to how I'd feel with a normal heart rate and normal oxygen levels. I hope you experience the same thing!

Overnight dips can cause fatigue during the day that we write off to a million other things. It's great that your dr is so thorough, it's better to be diagnosed and fix it before you have symptoms. Others aren't so lucky, their first clue is passing out and getting hurt.

Welcome to the club! If you have questions, don't be shy.

Heart stopped

by Good Dog - 2015-12-21 10:12:55

It does seem a little difficult to believe that you didn't have symptoms. If it were 2-3 seconds, then maybe I wouldn't expect symptoms. Here is the thing, I had a congenital heart block and for years I had a really low heartbeat. My pulse would drop in the 30's when I was sleeping. When I went into full heart block just before my PM implant my pulse dropped as low as 12 bpm in the ICU. It was bouncing between 12 and 25 bpm. The nurse was shocked that I was still conscious and talking. She said that most people pass-out with a pulse rate that low. The assumption is that my body had adjusted to such a low pulse for so long, that I was relatively symptom free. Of course I was lying down, so I'm sure that if I were standing it would have been a different story. The point is that our bodies are amazing relative to how they adapt to things like that over time. I am not saying that is the case with you, but it certainly could be.
In any case, the previous poster was correct. These devices are rugged and reliable. Given your condition, it should have no negative impact on your life whatsoever. You will eventually forget you even have one and really come to appreciate it.

Sincerely,

David

Questioning the diagnosis

by Gotrhythm - 2015-12-22 04:12:45

I think the doc was as surprised as I was to learn how often my heart was pausing, and/or heart rate dropping. I had been going to the doc for six months trying to figure out why I was way past exhausted, but only sometimes, with a persistent non-productive cough. I had had I don't know how many perfectly normal ekgs.

I was diagnosed because the pulmonologist happened to be listening to my chest the very moment a pause happened. Sheer luck. Count yourself fortunate to have a doctor who is proactive.

After the PM I was amazed NOT to be able to feel my heart doing the lurching and jolting and pounding I had accepted as normal. I felt calm on the inside in a way I had forgotten it was possible to feel.

But I can see why you would wonder if maybe someone else's name got put on your Holter test. Your pacemaker checks will tell the tale. The check will show what percentage of the time to PM is kicking on so be sure to ask for a print out and someone here will help you interpret it.

Welcome to the club.

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Try to concentrate on how you’re able to be active again and feel normal, rather than on having a machine stuck in your body.