Pacemaker Trade

Pacemakers for younger people

by LondonAndy - 2018-07-19 16:15:38

Whilst it is true pacemakers are more common among older people, one can be needed at any age and the devices have a number of programmable settings to take account of activity levels. The most important one is rate response - where the pacemaker detects increased activity levels and increases the rate at which it triggers heart beats to suit.  Both the sensitivity of this setting and the maximum pulse rate they will increase to, can be configured by your technician. Older people may not have this feature turned on, to extend battery life.  These are settings you can discuss with your EP, or technician, and may take a few tweaks to suit you best.

The rate response is often triggered by physical vibrations, using Piezo-electric crystals (accelerometers) but this may not suit some activities that don't result in much movement, and there are other methods such as measuring impedence.

So it may not matter which pacemaker you have, you just need to get the right settings for it.  I have only had a Medtronic Ensura for less than 4 years, and others with more experience will be able to add more about other devices.  My understanding is that Medtronic is one of the most innovative companies, but I could be wrong.

Heart disease

by Theknotguy - 2018-07-19 17:05:10

Heart disease.  Everyone is the same, everyone is different. Consequently for your questions 1,2, and 3, I'd have to answer - don't know of any.  Problem being that what works for me may not necessarily work for you.  Each pacemaker can be tweaked to somewhat fit the lifestyle and the heart problems of the person who has it.  Since we're all different that means each pacemaker ends up being custom fitted for the person.  

Some settings can be somewhat universal.  Standard setting after implant seems to be 60 beats per minute.  You hear that a lot.  After you've had the pacemaker for a while that setting can be changed up or down but most people get along with the 60 BPM.  For people who bicycle there are a couple of brands that seem to work better than others.  Since I don't bicycle I'm not sure of the differences.  I think my high end pacing is 130 BPM.  But since I'm on heart drugs and the highest I can get my heart is 120 BPM I've never been able to see what happens at the max rate.  Haven't heard anyone complain about their high end settings either.  

The 93 year old I sit next to at church has a Medtronic, same as me.  His is pretty vanilla, mine has different settings plus two programs running on it.  So even though it's the same brand there are quite a few differences.  

As far as pacemakers being only for old people, that isn't the case either.  We have babies just out of the womb up to 90 year old people with pacemakers.  Most seem to get along fine.  TraceyE is on her fifth pacemaker and does CrossFit training.  I do a lot of walking then go down to the woodshop and toss wood around.  In both cases our pacemakers keep up with what we're doing.  

I did have some problems with chronotropic incompetence at first.  But, 1) I've either learned to adjust to it or 2) they've tweaked the pacemaker, or 3) they've adjusted my medication  to work with the situation because I don't have problems with chronotropic incompetence any more.  So that points to some kind of customization (possibly) with my unit. Which also means they will be able to do some tweaking with yours if needed.     

You can look around the forum and see what's been discussed.  But also remember you have a newer pacemaker.  Mine was the whiz-bang unit four years ago but is now considered obsolete.  Things that were new with mine are common now and there is more new stuff coming almost every month.  So what may have been a problem last year may not be this year.  

So, for you, I wouldn't be too concerned about having a unit that won't fit your lifestyle.  Hope you adjust well to living with your pacemaker and they can make all the changes you want.  
 

suggestion

by The real Patch - 2018-07-19 17:22:20

I might suggest you buy some malpractice insurance before choosing which device you think you should have. That way if things go wrong you have someone to hold responsible.

That's really a good one, some pacemakers are for old people. Yep that would be the models with a hand crank. There's also models for bikers which has a kick starter. Should I go on?

All pacemakers no matter who the manufacturer are designed for heart issues, not age. They design these to optimize performance for everyone and the software is used to program the device to meet your specific needs.

For most part pacemakers are very similar in functionality. Sure some have features that others don't but that is constantly changing and your Electrophysiologist will know best which device is best for your needs. If you think your EP is just selecting whichever one happens to be on the shelf when he implants yours, then you need to find a new doctor who has your best interests at heart.

Stop with the double think, you weren't qualified to decide on a make or model anyway. Just enjoy your new lease on life

ditto Patch

by Tracey_E - 2018-07-19 18:04:56

Some pacemaker SETTINGS are for sedentary people. They are easier to program than active patients. Pacemakers are for slow hearts, regardless of age. As Patch said, there are a few differences between them, primarily in rate response, but they are more similar than different.

Rate response is what gets your rate up on exertion if it doesn't go up on its own. Some of them go by motion which means they don't work well for cycling. So if you have chronotropic incompetence and you cycle, then you'll want one with minute ventilation. 99.9% of us would do just fine with any pacer on the market. 

We don't generally assess the choices. There aren't hundreds of them out there, there are 4 main manufacturers. As far as I know none of them have more than 1-2 models. Some hospitals don't work with all 4 brands, just one or two. Most of us get what our doctor recommends, because they know them better than us. Also, we want the one our doctor knows and likes best, because they are the ones who will be programming it. So even if given a choice, I'd still go with what my doctor recommends. 

I've never seen reviews or comparisons. Most patients don't even know what they have. They get it and feel better so they don't really care to know more. I know probably more about my condition and device than a large percentage of patients because I'm congenital and love to play 20 questions with my doctors and SJM reps, but I can't tell you what model my newest one is. 

Don't overthink it. If you are having issues, odds are it's the settings, not the device. If there's something you want to do that you cannot, talk to your doctor about your settings. It's not uncommon to need them fine tuned if we are active. They like to make changes in small increments so don't be surprised or discouraged if it takes more than once. 

Very important question

by Terry - 2018-07-19 18:43:56

A little pacemaker history, but more importantly the 7-minute movie tells where we are headed. <www.His-pacing.org>.

All the best,

Terry

Pacemaker bling

by AgentX86 - 2018-07-19 21:56:09

Nice troll.

MRI Safe pacemaker

by RoboCop - 2018-07-20 12:35:55

I slightly disagree with the idea that all pacemakers are made for all people...  My doctor implanted a Medtronic MRI Safe pacemaker, which has plastic leads in the heart and can be put on a setting so I can get MRI's. Normally, this strong magnetic field runs the risk of dislodging leads in the heart or interfering with the pacemaker itself.  My doctor knew that I was heavy into sports and mma, and often get injuries requiring MRIs. Also since I was only 25 when I got it put in, there's a higher chance we of me needing MRI's in my life for any other medical issues.  I would look into it if you can.

MRI

by Tracey_E - 2018-07-20 14:50:38

Latest from the FDA (post recently by pacerrep, if you want to do a search) is they will soon all be considered MRI safe. Some hospitals won't do an mri on a pacer, whether it's mri compliant or not. Some hospitals will do an mri on patients with pacers that aren't specifically mri compliant. The lines are getting blurred and soon all but those of us with very old leads will be able to have mri's. They've been doing them on all pacers for years in Europe and have not had complications. 

MRIs are only for the young?

by AgentX86 - 2018-07-21 00:06:44

Seriously?  I would bet they're more common in older people, like most medical procedures.  As Tracy says, it's not really a problem to begin with, though my EP suggested that, should I need one, go to a large hospital rather than an "MRI in a box".  They'll know how to handle a pacemaker if by some freak chance, something happens.