Dont understand this

Hi, I just came from my first pacemaker check. The tech said I was pacing at 48% She said that was good. It was in the Atrium. None in the Ventricles. Well, she caused my heart to skip when she did the check. She told me she did that! Yippee, did not feel good. My question is, is 48% good or bad or what. I read that the more your heart is paced, the weaker the ejection fraction becomes ( yes I read that on the internet) I don't see the Dr. till next month. She said my leads were in the right place. ( I was worried because I put my arm behind me a few times and it has only been 20 days) Some insight please before I start worrying!!! Will the pacer make my heart not want to beat on its own? Concerned, but not freaking out! Yet!!! Thank you in advance, Ileen

3 Comments

48%

by BillH - 2017-01-10 22:22:49

48% atrial pacing is neither good or bad. It is what the heart needs.

It is right ventricle pacing that has the potential of causing a reduction in ejection fraction.

And it is a small percentage of people that have that problem.

 

Pacing Percentage

by CoThG - 2017-01-12 01:34:23

I'm pacing about 98% of the time. My low rate limit is 60 and my unpaced heart rate is in the mid-30s. 

bet you can guess what I'm gonna say!

by Tracey_E - 2017-01-12 21:23:22

Stop overthinking and reading on the internet. ;o)

There is no magic good or bad number- if you feel good, then you are pacing the right amount. It's not uncommon to increase over time but it's natural progression of what is wrong with your heart, not the pacer making the heart lazy. The pacer is reactive, not proactive, so your heart always has a chance to do its own thing before the pacer kicks in. It doesn't really matter, tho, if your condition worsens the pacer is already in place and ready to do whatever you need. Think of it as a built in insurance policy/back up plan, how many things in life come with that?!

Unnecessary ventricular pacing can reduce EF, not atrial. It's rare regardless. When I saw the congenital specialist, he said that if EF hasn't changed after 5 years, he almost never sees it happen after, so he considers that a very minimal risk for me (20+ years pacing every beat ventricle). Worst case if EF drops, it's not a death sentence. There are treatments that get better all the time. But that is not a significant risk for you, so don't waste energy thinking about it. 

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