what is the meaning of a pacing percentage

Does anyone know the answer to
Whether the percentage of pacing for the resynchronisation device (not a pacemaker) is set by how well your heart is functioning or is it a pre set percentage by the technician?
many thanks for your kind response or where i can read about it



14 Comments

me too

by jwrobb - 2016-03-30 03:03:23

I would like to know as well.

numbers

by Tracey_E - 2016-03-30 04:03:55

Most pacers work on demand, which means they give the heart a set amount of time to beat on its own before stepping in, to keep the math simple let's say a minimum rate of 60 bpm. That means that if your heart goes one second and doesn't beat, it will send a signal to pace the atria. Then it gives the ventricles a fraction of a second to keep up. If it doesn't, then it kicks in with ventricular pacing. With CRT, it is doing this with both the left and right ventricles so it keeps them in sync. However often it kicks in is your pacing percentage. You'll have a different number for each lead. It's not uncommon for the number to vary and there is no *good* or *bad* number, if you feel good then you are pacing the right amount.

pacing percentages

by Pacing100 - 2016-03-31 01:03:22

The pacing percentage is a reflection of how much each chamber is being paced. The device measures all of the beats since your last in-person interrogation. For a CRT, it would tell you percentage of use for the atrium and the right/left ventricles combined. Ideally they want the device to pace 100% in the ventricles and minimally in the atrium. My advice is to ask the tech for a copy of your device data next time your in the office.

setting of pacing

by harmbeat - 2016-04-01 02:04:53

Thanks so much for comments but it is still unclear to me

Does your heart set the percentage
Or
Does the technician set the percentage?

Both...

by rnff2 - 2016-04-01 04:04:08

I think the answer your looking for is both.

If your pacemaker is set to not allow your heart to beat slower than 60 and your heart slows down to 50 then the pacemaker will jump in to help, if your heart rate increases above 60 the pacemaker stops pacing.

There are parameters that are set to not allow your HR to be below or above a certain number and that is set by the technician. So the pacing % is dependent on how your heart is responding to the set parameters. There isn't a actual set % of time you pace in your pacemaker settings. It's a combination of the technician set parameters and how your heart beats along with those parameters.
Your percentage can and probably will change depending on what your heart is doing.

Is that a little clearer???

getting clearer

by harmbeat - 2016-04-01 10:04:42

So, if you are pacing at 98% then this is your heart needing this not an arbitrary setting?

its gone again

by harmbeat - 2016-04-01 11:04:15

I thought i understood but it has disappeared again.
Maybe a different way of looking at this.......what does 98% pacing mean?

percentages

by Tracey_E - 2016-04-01 12:04:30

The technician sets the parameters for when the pacer will kick in. How often your heart needs it is the percentage. So, the technician's settings can affect the pacing percentage but they don't directly control it.

98%

by rnff2 - 2016-04-02 04:04:02

The 98% means your heart needs your pacemaker to pace it 98% of the time.
Your pacemaker is not set to pace your heart 98% of the time. Your pacemaker is set to fill in when your heart isn't doing what it should. So your heart is only being normal 2% of the time.

Does that help???

I pace at 11%, so 11% of the time I need assistance from my pacemaker and 89% of the time my heart beats normally. My pacemaker only kicks in when my heart is beating improperly, the pacemaker senses it and helps it along.

:)

by rnff2 - 2016-04-02 05:04:23

Exactly, your heart sets the percentage. The technician sets the parameters that your pacemaker uses to assist your heart. So when your heart isn't doing what it should the parameters that the technician set are what makes the pacemaker know when to pace (help) your heart.

Your very welcome...I hope it helped. :)

light is dawning

by harmbeat - 2016-04-02 12:04:13

I think i understand now....the heart sets the percentage.
Not sure about the technician though.
Thank you very much for taking the time to help me. I wrote to Medtronics but they did not respond.
Cheers Leanne

Thank you all!

by Ceely - 2018-04-30 19:40:00

This info was SO enlightening and helpful! These things were never explained to me,  I passed out, went into complete heart block, and recieved my PM all in a 24 hr period. 

what are your pacing percentages?

by Rocketlady - 2018-06-10 03:09:15

I am curious to know what others' pacing percentages are.  Mine is 16%.  To Ceely, I also passed out, had convulsions, then my heart restarted after 23 seconds of "pausing".  (I had a Zio patch recording it all.)

 

Pacing %

by Bill99 - 2019-09-12 08:42:48

I am not all that knowlegeable about this stuff but my cardiologist said I was pacing at 92%

You know you're wired when...

You have a dymo-powered bike.

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Since I got my pacemaker, I don't pass out anymore! That's a blessing in itself.