Palpitations?

*I'm working on getting an appointment scheduled - just trying to see if anyone else has experienced this and can tell me what happened for them*

I've had a pacemaker (brady) for 13 years and am on my 2nd device, which I've had for 6 years. I feel like I'm pretty well versed in what having a pacemaker is like and my current device and I are well acquainted.

About a month ago I started having palpitations - my heart didn't feel like it was beating faster, just harder; I could feel it in my throat. As the month has gone on, it's been more frequent. I usually feel it when I lay on my left side but it started happening when I was laying on my back, right side, or just sitting on the couch.

Last night it started happening every 10-15 minutes. It didn't feel like my heart was beating faster, so I didn't think about my pacer. But I have a FitBit so I opened it last night and started watching my heartrate live and noticed it would gradually get down to 47-49, hang out there for a couple minutes, then drop to 45-46, at which point I'd feel the palpitations and my HR would climb up to 95-100 within 2 minutes. By the time it hit 90, it wasn't beating "hard" so I couldn't feel it in my throat like I did when it was lower. It would hang out around 95-100 briefly, and then start falling again. Like before, getting to 47-49 for a few, dropping to 45-46, palpitations, then back up again. This cycle went on for 3 hours before I finally was able to ignore it enough to fall asleep. 

This morning at work I started noticing the hard beating and saw my HR was at 46 and climbing once I felt it.

My pacer settings are programmed so I get the juice if my HR hits 40, so I shouldn't have been triggering it. But since I got the pacemaker because my HR was getting low enough to cause me to pass out (11 sec pauses), the idea that my heart rate is consistently falling below resting HR makes me nervous.

Has anyone experienced this? I've Googled palpitations and everything says they are normal with rare exceptions, but since I'm noticing a pattern with my HR, I'm not sure if they are actually palpitations.

2 Comments

Everything changes over time

by Gotrhythm - 2018-02-05 15:30:44

Heart rhythm issues can change over time, and rarely for the better. I now have several hitches in my gallop I didn't have when I first got the pacemaker. I don't know enough to even guess what might be going on with you, but I have seen odd pulse rates displayed by my pulse ox when I was having palpitations.

Chances are, if they interrogate your PM, you'll be told it is "working fine." If your doctor doesn't suggest it, you might need to insist on a Holter Monitor.

Changes in my settings to accomodate changes in my condition helped a lot.

 

Heart rate dropping

by WillieG - 2018-02-05 21:03:39

I have had similar symptoms as you with feeling a very strong heart beat that is rather uncomfortable. If I put my monitor on, can watch my rate drop to 50’s and even into the 40s (my lower rate is 50 so find this odd). If I sit, it will climb back up to 90’s but if stand and walk, it will drop again.  After I sleep thru the night, I am fine.  I wore a Zio monitor last year for 2 weeks, but did not experience any of the episodes while having the monitor.  Maybe someday I will do a download with the home monitor and try to figure it out.

 

Good luck to you!

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