Two Weeks With My PM/1st Post Op Mtg w/Doctors

Today marks 2 weeks since I got my PM/2 stents and I have my first post op meeting with the doctors tomorrow. I have a lot of questions but not sure I have the right questions. Here are a few I have - any other suggestions?

What the hell happened to me and why?

     Did I do something to bring it on?

     Just genetics?

     Was my heart damaged?

What can't I do going forward?

What should I be doing going forward?

What is the PM set at for a minimum heart beat?

Is the PM constantly keeping the heart going or is it working on its own sometimes? Pacing rate?

Will the PM keep me from having a heart attack?

Can I start driving again?

 

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

Tom

3 Comments

questions: we all have them

by Gotrhythm - 2017-01-23 15:25:29

Watch this animation of the heart; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H04d3rJCLCE

Before we got here, a lot of us didn't know how our hearts operate. For our purposes here, the heart can be divided into two systems. The pump part which does the actual work circulating the blood and the electrical part that tells the pump when to switch on.

You can have a problem with either one system or the other. Or both at the same time. It looks like you got unlucky and got both. That's why you have stents for the pump part and a pacemaker for the electrical system.

The pacemaker works with the electrical system. It helps the heart to beat (pump) fast enough. It won't do anything at all for the arteries.  Watch the above YouTube animation of how your heart works. The vidoe will explain both the pump and the electrical system. It will answer some of your questions and help you ask better ones. 

It's good to ask questions and to keep asking until you get the answers you need. 

Start with how you are feeling

by Grateful Heart - 2017-01-23 21:16:35

Your main questions should come from that.  The learning questions will come...it takes time.

The PM does not prevent heart attacks.  Your stents were put in to deal with that....the plumbing part of your heart.

Write your questions down so you don't forget anything.  Good luck tomorrow.

Grateful Heart 

Notes

by Hamsquatch - 2017-01-24 01:46:36

You should write down the questions and take notes just to be certain you don't miss anything. 

You know you're wired when...

Your life has spark.

Member Quotes

I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.