Undecided about a pacemaker

It sounds like a no-brainer to me !

by IAN MC - 2017-08-15 05:03:24

Hi Charlie :  What exactly are you waiting for ? ..  Fainting at the top of a flight of stairs maybe ?   A few broken bones when you faint ?  Fractured skull perhaps ?

Cardiac pauses are a classic symptom of Sick Sinus Syndrome as are dizzyness and fainting.

Assuming that the diagnosis is right , a pacemaker will almost certainly make your cardiac pauses a thing of the past and It is a relatively simple procedure to have a PM fitted . I had mine done under local anaesthetic at 11.00 am and returned home the same day.

How are we similar ?

-   I  live in the UK

-  I  have SSS

-  I  experienced dizzy spells

- I  fainted 

How are we dissimilar ?

-  I fainted only once and that was enough for me

-  I now have a pacemaker

- I no longer have dizzy spells or cardiac pauses

- I can drive

- I am not worried about that next episode which I know the PM will prevent

I am sure you will  make the right decision.

Best of luck

Ian

without a doubt have one fitted

by Chantellerose - 2017-08-15 06:53:02

Hi,

story very similar to you. 34 in UK had one fitted 5 months ago.  I have Sick Sinus syndrome too. was have no symptoms with 20 second pauses.  not sure which NHS trust you are with i live in Buckinghamshire I had the loop fitted too! but they told me as soon as they see a 5 second pause with symtoms they would give me a pacemaker.  if you are having any pauses with symptoms (fainting) have it done, not worth the wait! also not being able to drive is rubbish so even for that sole reason. good luck

Go for it!!!

by zawodniak2 - 2017-08-15 11:16:51

My story is identical to IAN MC except I live in the United States.  Electrical symptoms with the heart don't heal on their own and generally only get worse with time.  If I were you I would get a get a pace maker and get on with enjoying life.  With one exception being boxing, as multiple severe blows to the pace maker site is a "no-no"

                                 Rodger

Come on Ian

by The real Patch - 2017-08-15 12:41:46

Some of us enjoy romancing the stone (kissing the floor) after plummeting down the stairs. In fact in some cases it may be irritable spouse syndrome causing us to do a face plant.

Unlike the others, I'm not going to tell you to get a device, that's a decision you have to make for yourself based on what is in your best interests. If the root cause of your frequent light in the loafer moments is indeed a pause, then no question a pacer should help reduce and possibly eliminate the problem.

Good luck in whatever approach you decide on

Some considerations

by Gotrhythm - 2017-08-15 16:25:24

Lelt's get real. Nobody says, when they're five years old, "Gee, I sure hope I can get a pacemaker when I"m grown." Very few people actually want a pacemaker, even when they have aceepted that they need one.

Your hesitation is normal and reasonable.

Goodness knows, I was in denial. I was sure I could get better on my own...somehow. And the thought of permanently connecting a machine to my heart...eeewwww!

That fact is,my heart was so unsteady, I doubt if I was always getting enough oxygen to my brain. I was not doing my best thinking. I absolutely should not have been driving. I can say that even though I never passed out. I just had so many spots before my eyes I couldn't see where I was going. [pained laugh]

You have passed out several times. 

I wasn't thinking about what it would be like live with a steady heartbeat because I hadn't had one is so long, I didn't remember what it felt like.

So. You don't know whether you need a pacemaker and you can't really imagine feeling better. That makes you not sure. But if you need one, you'd rather get it sooner than later. That's makes you smarter than me.

So the question is do you really need one. Let me ask you this: Are you sure it will be okay with you if you pass out at the wheel when someone you love is in the car with you? Are you sure it will be okay with them if you pass out?

Just asking.

go for it

by bridgermichael - 2017-08-15 19:15:11

hi Charlie thought I would share my experience -I am based in uk near Poole Hospital where I was sorted - I too had a low heartbeat that appeared to come out of nowhere and it caused me to drop one night in the kitchen and I hit the floor and banged my head knocking me out- had I not been knocked out I probably would have got up and wondered what had happened but probably would have dusted myself down and carried on - however as I had been concussed I was blue lighted into hospital a and e - what a result ! the consultant I had didn't just want to treat the concussion and head wound but wanted to find the cause of the drop- over the next 6 weeks I had tests for everything and I mean everything- the eeg was the weirdest where you have 20 leads attached to plates on head and the doctor controls impulses like Ricky moraillas trying to trigger a fit or episode - all clear on that and lots of others but the wearing of heart monitor showed weird readings so I had to wear for a week and that's when they found I was regularly below 30 and had low beat arrhythmia. that's when they booked me in for pacemaker and wasn't able to drive - as you say that is quite hard ! friends and colleagues br allied round for a few weeks - I haven't looked back since ! had it 18 months and it's transformed me and although I still going low ( and high) on download graphs it takes over and stabilises me and I have to say it's brilliant. I was able to drive just 7 days after surgery all signed off !!! I cannot praise my NHS (uk ) consultant enough for persevering in helping me to find out why I dropped but you can't really ask the question of what's wrong or why me but be thankful that it's been found before a worse thing like a stroke or heart attack resulted from blood clots and low beats - I now have normal active life and fully participative in sports and leisure activity comfortable in the knowledge that the unit will stabilise any adnormalities. I hope this encourages to read my story and many others on the site to know that you have a diagnosis and therefore there is an action plan to work with the issue and if you are to have a pacemaker than not to worry as this is the best result you could wish for !I have had to be prescribed beta blockers and anti coagulation tablets recently but that's because the pm is cutting in quite frequently and its usual to have these . good luck with it - it's the best and only real option ! Mike b  

Michael, you may have a misunderstanding

by IAN MC - 2017-08-16 08:09:28

I'm glad that your PM implant has been so successful but one of your comments is not totally accurate  ( or it may just be the way you have written it ) :-

"  ! have had to be prescribed beta blockers and anti coagulation tablets recently but that's because the pm is cutting in quite frequently  "

- Drugs are not prescribed because a PM  " cuts in " quite  frequently

- With many people , their PM kicks in 100 % of the time and they don't take any drugs

- It sounds as though you have atrial fibrillation or some other  type of irregular rhythm , hence the beta blocker and the warfarin

- Charlie who sent the original post seems to have Sick Sinus Syndrome and bradycardia is often the only symptom. He would not need any drugs unless he has other heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation

-  all the PM does is it kicks in when your heartrate is too slow i.e bradycardia . In your case  you must have an IRREGULAR  heartrate hence the drugs. Every time you get bradycardia the PM will kick in but you have been given drugs because  something else , in addition to the bradycardia, is going on with  your heart

It is possible that the frequent PM kicking in may have been one of the things which alerted them to the fact that you don't have normal sinus rhythm

I hope that is clear

Cheers

Ian