Pulse drops to 43bpm

i wondering if anyone can explain this.

ive had a pacemaker for four years. Last October I had an AV Node Ablation so obviously the pacemaker pretty much controls my heart rate.

i also have sleep apnoea. Last night early am I woke with shortness of breath and very fast pulse, this lasted for approximately 15-20 seconds.

i have two devices that can read my pulse and they both showed a heart rate of 43 the building up to 85-90. 

This has never happened before.

Does anyone think the Pacemaker malfunctioned? It's a little concerning when one is Pacemaker dependent.

Cheers

Barry

3 Comments

Rate drop?

by JaqsDad - 2017-06-25 01:54:00

Do you know what your pacemaker settings are? It sounds like you have rate drop enabled. With rate drop, if your pulse drops too much in a certain amount of time, your pacer will kick in.

For example, my pacer is set at 55bpm. However, if my pulse drops 25 beats in a minute or less, even if it doesn't reach 55 bpm (say from 100 to 75), I am paced at 100 bpm for 1 minute.

Combine that with your sleep apnea and it may be the symptoms you are feeling.

The only way to know for sure what is going on is to contact your Dr. You might be able to take a manual reading. Learn what your settings are and discuss how you feel and what changes may need to be made.

change in pulse rate

by Selwyn - 2017-06-25 06:58:43

Sounds like a cardiac arrhythmia to me, or hypoxic attack from your apnoea with a secondary tachycardia on recovery.

Better get some monitoring done. ( 24-48 hr ECG recording might be helpful).

Talk to a medic.

Selwyn

rates

by Tracey_E - 2017-06-25 11:55:21

Always count manually if a device shows a low  number. Pacers confuse almost all of them. They can miss paced beats, they can be confused by pvc's and things like that. If you count more than a few beats below your minimum setting, then call and ask to be seen. A few beats is ok, so if you are set to not go under 50, then mid to upper 40's is acceptable. If you have a home monitor, send an interrogation. 

If you know you have apnea, it needs to be treated. Untreated apnea will shorten your life. 

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