Father got pacemaker 4 weeks ago, felt heart slowed almost stopping last night is this normal?

Hi, just joined as hoping for advise. 76 year old very fit father got a pacemaker fitted 4 weeks ago due to bradycardia which had caused a number of collapses over a two day period. Last night dad work during the night feeling his heart was going very slow to the point of feeling it would stop and he found it scary. He doesn't want to get checked by doctor, think he is worried about licence but i am worried about this. would it be normal?

3 Comments

pulse

by Tracey_E - 2018-04-26 09:16:48

Did he count his pulse at the time? If it's under 55-60, something may be wrong with the pacer so he needs to be seen. Other than scared, how did he feel? 

Was it just once during the night and only lasted a minute? It's possible what he felt was the pacer self check. They sometimes set it to do it during the night so we'll sleep through it. It feels like when they interrogate in the office, pulse goes up and down for a few seconds and it feels weird if you aren't expecting it. 

Pulse

by Bales - 2018-04-27 00:36:57

I'm a 72 year old male, was fit, and got my pacemaker 8+ weeks ago because my sleeping heart rate was slowing to 28.  I agree with TraceyE, first check that heart rate and if low, consult the Doctor.  My PM is set for 50 beats per minute from 10pm to 8 am. (daytime 60)  When I first got it, I was having trouble sleeping, both from discomfort and anxiety.  But I found that as the days passed I became assured that my heart was not going to stop while I was asleep.  Now at 8 weeks I'm getting 7-8 hours sleep per night.  I am up to 15 minutes per day on my static bike, but I didn't start until the beginning of the 7th week. I look upon that as a success, so I hope the same for your Dad.

Father got pacemaker 4 weeks ago, felt heart slowed almost stopping last night is this normal?

by Rosieni - 2018-05-01 06:14:50

Thanks TraceyE and Bales for the replies. Dad felt fine wasn't dizzy or anything so maybe pacemaker kicked in. He has a review in a couple of weeks. He has been monitoring his heartrate on a garmin tracker so that is good. Thanks again 

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