SHOULD I GIVE UP MY LIFE TO LIVE????

You will not be giving up your life, you will likely be saving it !!

by MartyP - 2017-08-17 18:39:59

You noted: my heart stoped beating 23 times for 4 to 7 seconds and when at rest my BPM droped to below 40 and at times in the 20s not all the time just once in awhile.

While I'm certainly not a doctor, these were like my symptoms 10 weeks ago and for me it was called a "3rd degree heart block" and I didn't hesitate for one minute.

While there is more to know, to me it sounds like a no brainer - a PM is indicated.

This blog is a wonderful place to get information and see just how people have made the decisions and how they do.

The actual PM operation, if anything like mine - a two lead medtronics - is about a 1/2 hour, the recovery from the surgery is pretty easy, just don't raise your arm above your head for about two weeks and then take it easy for maybe 6 to 8 more weeks before you go back to light then heavier excercise.

So the operation is easy, but do talk to the doc about what you can expect afterwards, some, like me, have struggled with with the change as I became very aware of the changes in my heart when it paces and anxiety that my body sort of let me down.

The PM will keep you, and maybe your family, friends and strangers from getting killed if you are driving and you pass out with no warning.

I was sitting in a diner at 9:00 in the morning with my wife and simply keeled over.  If I had been driving god only knows what could have happened.

"Live Long and Prosper"  "Sparky" is your friend not the end of your life !!!!

Swallow Syncope

by brokenlifter - 2017-08-17 23:22:51

A bit more to the story, my doctor says I have a swallow syncope brought on by the major neck and throat surgery and also the radiation treatments I had afterwards, that explains the slight blackout symptoms  I was having, I have adjusted how and what I eat and again no diet soda, the BPM thing is the only thing I can't figure out but for the last 3 weeks it hasn't happened. I have called twice and stopped by my cardiologist office once, I haven't gotten a call back yet, perhaps he may be willing to put the PM placement on hold for awhile longer, if my symptoms return I will proceed with the PM at once, I don't even know anyone with a PM for advice, I guess that's why I joined the forum. 

Thanx Randy

Hello Randy - just keep us informed over the next few weeks

by MartyP - 2017-08-17 23:32:08

Hope for the best, and if getting a PM is the worst, you will be fine !

Getting a pacemaker is not the end!

by LondonAndy - 2017-08-18 03:45:26

Quite the opposite - it keeps your heart working when otherwise it would stop, and that can cause blackouts some of which may be at rather inconvenient times, such as when driving or something.  Those situations are more life threatening.

Talk to your heart people about your desire to continue to lift weights - whilst power lifting is not normally advised, they may be able to insert it in a different place that allows you to continue.

End or Beginning

by TBrous&Chip - 2017-08-18 19:00:20

Prior to getting my pm I was regularly blacking out mainly after bending over and standing up.  Beyond the worry of not knowing why I was extremely scared that I would permanently injure myself from falling.  That would have been terrible because the heart problem would still have to be taken care of but no chance of a normal life c because of the other injury.  I am lucky to have no permanent injury.

I believe the risk of a pm install procedure is less than many other surgical procedures that require full anesthesia.  Recognize that many of the people on these forums have multiple problems with there heart and other organs.  Doctors are performing a balancing act to try and help these people. A straightforward pm install for syncope can be a fairly simple procedure and you will go home same day or the next.

I see the pacemaker as lifesaving and allows me to continue an active life.  This makes my wife, children and grandchildren very happy ( well, my wife is glad most days).

Whoa! Everything you think you know might not be true!!!

by Gotrhythm - 2017-08-20 16:55:58

I'm not trying to sell you on a pacemaker, but whatever you decide should be based on good information. Your post contains two erroneous assumptions which need to be cleared up.

1. Fundamentally your heart has two systems. The pump that is physically moving the blood to your lungs and then around the body, and the on/off electrial system that causes the pump to operate. [Hugely oversimplified but good enough for this discussion*]

It's possible to have trouble with one system but not the other, or both at the same time.

When talking about heart health, most people are talking about the pump. But many of us here have strong, healthy pumps. It's the switch that is faulty. 

A pacemaker is simply a failsafe for the switch. As long as the swich operates when it should, the pacemaker does nothing. If the switch takes too long, the pacemaker takes over and supplies a beat. Then it waits to see if the next beat will come on time. If it does, the pacemaker does nothing. But if the switch takes too long...etc.

That's all a pacemaker is. These days there are lots of bells and whistles, but fundamentally, that's all a pacemaker does. It operates as a failsafe for when the pump fails to switch on as it should.

You can do much to improve the health of the pump, and you have been doing it. But you can do little to make faulty switch operate more reliably. No pills, no diet, no exercise. A little bit unreliable is no improvement over very unreliable, because it lulls you into thinking the problem has gone away.

It hasn't. By and large, electrical problems with the heart do not improve, and, in fact, tend to get worse over time.

Why cardiologists do not explain this, I do not know. It certianly isn't beyond a layman's grasp. I had some of the same mistaken assumptions as you, and I almost waited too late. I could have died, or worse, killed someone else if I passed out while driving.

2. Why on earth do you believe a getting pacemaker means your life is over? What have you read or heard?

There's a lot of bad information out there that's 30-50 years out of date. Today's pacemakers are incredibly reliable, well-shielded from electromagnetic interference, and even MRI safe.

Among our membership we have every age group, and every kind of athlete you can think of. Weight-lifting, cross-fit training, marathon running, swimming--you name it. They all have pacemakers and they don't think their lives are over. They're out there doing what they love, thank you very much.

Do things sometimes go wrong? Yes they do. People whose lives go on without a hitch (and they are the majority) are much less likely to join Pacemaker Club, so what you might read here doesn't paint a true picture of how frequently people encounter problems.

Still, even those who do hit a glitch, like I did, would tell you that the pacemaker has added to the quality of life. It's so much easier to enjoy whatever you're doing--playing ball, having sex, eating, sleeping deeply--when you know whatever you're doing isn't going to make your heart stop.

* you can also have a problem with the autonomic nervous system that isn't caused by the heart at all, but can cause the heart to stop. Sort of like the pump is fine and the switch is fine, but a transformer is down. Everything I said about a pacemaker still applies.

SECOND THOUGHT

by brokenlifter - 2017-08-23 22:41:46

Hi all, thanks for all the feedback. So I called my doctors office and postponed my PM implant for September 8, made another follow up appointment in mid October, so I thought all was well and felt good about my decision, once again wrong!! An hour later my doctors office called me and began to explane in very certain words that I was making a grave mistake, and I had no idea what I was doing, I tried to explane I was feeling much better and the things I had adjusted in my life. To make it short that man said I was being ignorant and hard headed I had heart block and would be lucky if I lived until September 8, they wanted me to come to the office that minute and show me my test results and have me sign a paper insinuating I was aware that I could and would die soon. Needless to say September 8 PM implant is back on,  and I will be at the hospital at 7:00 in the morning to do my pre-operation test that they require. LOL I guesss I got my dumb ass set straight.

Thanx Again

  Randy.