Pacemaker for 3rd Degree (Complete) Heart Block

yep

by Tracey_E - 2017-10-27 20:57:03

I have 3rd degree block, have been paced for it since I was 27. I'm 51 now. If you look up my past posts, I think I answered the active life question half a dozen times in the last few days. Doesn't hold me back at all. Don't be afraid of it, it's nothing more than a tool to get your life back. 

Third degree heart block - me too

by LondonAndy - 2017-10-28 00:30:56

I had surgical complications after heart surgery, where they accidentally damaged the electrics of my heart when they put in a mechanical aortic valve. Every day the surgeons would come and see how I was recovering,  turning the control knobs on the temporary (external) pacemaker that they put in as a precaution for just such a situation, to see if my heart had recovered sufficiently to generate its own pulses. One day I woke to find two surgeons pushing me back in my bedside chair as I had completely fainted. So no pulse, and a week after the main event I was back on the operating table for a pacemaker.  I am 100% dependent on the pacemaker.

I have to be honest and say it was about 3 or 4 months before I even thought about my new gadget. I am pretty certain that it has given me no issues whatsoever in the 3 years since: the 'rate response' kicks in when I exert , and my heart rate increases to provide the extra energy needed, though I am not a sportsman or athlete, so can't claim to have comprehensively tested this. But my everyday life has not been held back by it.

Back to normal

by Theknotguy - 2017-10-28 21:24:19

It's really hard to not have a pacemaker and wonder what life will be like with the pacemaker.  Unfortunately you won't know what it's like until you have the pacemaker.  However as you've seen there are a bunch of us who have the pacemaker and are getting along fine.  The usual question for me is what life is like with the pacemaker.  I'm able to tell them (after four years with it) I can do everything I did before I had the pacemaker and a lot more because I now have a regular heartbeat.  I've actually gotten to the point where at times I don't even think about it.  

I'm still getting therapy on the ribs they broke doing CPR.  That's been an on-going process but if it wasn't for the rib pain I probably wouldn't think about the pacemaker that much.  There isn't anything around the typical home that bothers it, isn't anything in the typical day-to-day life that bothers the pacemaker, and I'm in a light industrial situation and haven't had any problems with the pacemaker there either.  So it's pretty much life as usual.  

Another thing is if you can keep a positive outlook.  If you can keep the "life will eventually get to normal." attitude I feel you'll adjust to living with the pacemaker a lot more quickly and be able to do more because you won't have a negative attitude holding you back.  There will be some adjustment and you still will still have heart problems but life will start going in a "normal" way.  

Hope your implant surgery goes well.
 

Lots of Us Have Complete Heart Block

by NiceNiecey - 2017-10-29 00:12:41

Hi Trevor.

All the good people have already responded but I'll chime in, too!

I got my PM for Mobitz Type 2 heart block about 4 years ago (age 55 at the time). It is not uncommon for those with Mobit Type 2 to go into complete heart block during the first year with a PM.  (They don't think there is a connection between getting the device and developing complete heart block but who really knows?) This is exactly what happened to me: about 6-9 months post PM implant, I was in Complete Heart Block. Glad they warned me! I am now paced virtually every beat in both chambers and am considered PM dependent. I think most people that are in complete heart block are PM dependent (which is not the same as having a PM). Your cardiologist and/or device technician play a fun little game during check ups.  They turn your device down to 30 BPM and see what happens. Let the good times roll!!! I almost instantly pass out and they quickly raise my HR back to 60. They also tell me that I don't have escape rhythms which are God's backup, safety beats if our regular beats don't happen. I am so thankful that I have a PM because I would not be alive without it. What a gift! Give yourself time to adjust after the surgery.  You'll probably be super tired the first week or two and a little sore. You'll also be very aware of your heart beating, etc. but just know that this is perfectly normal. And just think:  you now get to join our very exclusive club! 

Keep us posted!

Niecey

Similar situation, Trevor

by JustineW - 2017-10-31 01:49:46

Hi! I am also 29 and I have a first degree block that occasionally escalates to third degree block. I can and have felt these symptoms for years, but ignored them due to lack of insurance. On the date you wrote this, 10/27, I was called by my cardiologist and told to come to ER immediately due to her reading my holter monitor and seeing the 3rd degree that day. So they admitted me that day, and I had my pacemaker surgery on the following day. I went home the next day, and I am healing nicely (I think!) 

It is still a weird thought to me knowing there's a device in my body keeping my heartbeat regular, but I know it is the only option. It would be so much more dangerous to live without it. I'm SO thankful to have recently become insured. My procedure took about an hour and a half. I was back to myself almost immediately after, and besides some pain at the incision site, I have felt fine ever since. 

So glad you're taking care of yourself and I hope your device is in and you're on the mend. We should be good as gold after this! Good luck :)

5 years and counting

by Reboot1212 - 2017-10-31 22:17:14

I'm in the 100 percent dependent CHB club. Got mine suddenly with little warning. I say I take it with me everwhere I go and just can't live without it. Life has been good. I do pretty much what I want and try to eat right and exercise in a sensible way. Just got back from a trip to Italy. Good luck to you, too!

Pacer Update

by TrevorP - 2017-11-02 11:43:16

Thanks all for responding, it means a lot to hear from others going through the same thing.

I got my PM in yesterday and so far so good! Pacing steady at a resting heart rate of 60 bpm. I am being paced most of the time but not all of the time (I go in and out between 1st and 3rd degree HB). Mine is a His bundle pacemaker (got the surgery at VCU hospital in Richmond, Virginia).

Looking forward to getting out and going on a hike after 7 days in the hospital. Will keep everyone posted on how things go!