3rd degree heartblock

Hey All, 

I am 37y/o female who has congenital 3rd degree heart block. Dx in utero. My mother has lupus and that’s why I have heart block. I have no structure or “pumping” EF problems. I rec’d my pacer at the age of 18 so I would not go below 40Bpm while sleeping. Pacer was on demand only (VVI) meaning it would be used if I hit 39. I’ve never passed out, dizziness etc. I’m very active run 2miles 3 days a week etc. I have had my device upgraded twice already with no lead revision. Well it’s time after 19 years of with my original lead and Russian dead lifts working out my lead has a fracture in it. Surgery is schedule for dec 4. 

 

These are are my questions, if you have 3rd degree HB, 

what kind of pacer do you have?

how are you paced? How many leads do you have ? 

Is yr pacer in yr pectoral muscle 

how long has yr lead(s) lasted ? 

Thank you 

D.S

1 Comments

leads

by Tracey_E - 2018-11-09 10:37:54

I also have congenital 3rd degree heart block. My ventricular lead paces whenever my atria beats. I have rate response turned on because sometimes my rate doesn't go up fast enough, or sometimes it nosedives, when I'm working out. So I pace a very small amount atrial, every beat ventricle. I think my lower limit is 60 but I never get near it because my sinus rate doesn't drop too low. My resting rate is usually in the 70s on its own. For me, my heart is setting the pace (other than the few times rate response kicks in to make it faster), the pacer is there to keep the ventricles in sync. 

Russian deadlifts aren't going to damage a lead unless you are going super heavy and doing tons of them. 15 years is average lead life so it sounds like normal wear and tear. 

I have one working lead from 1994, one that was replaced in 2011, old one was capped off and left in. I have been doing Crossfit for 7 years now. My doctor does annual xrays to evaluate the leads for minute damage and he says they're still looking great. He doesn't have any reservations about my lifting, in fact he encourages it. 

My first 4 were under the breast. The last one was moved to the pectoral. I liked the first placement better, but I am still able to do what I want at the gym. 

Mine have all been St Judes (now Abbott). This newest one has an upper limit of 220, previously the upper limit was 170. I would regularly max it out when working out,  my atrial rate would get faster than the pacer could make the ventricles keep up which feels kind of like hitting a wall in the middle of a workout! Now with the higher upper limit, that's not an issue, yay. This one also has a home monitor so now I only go in once a year, the other checks are all automated. This is the first time I've noticed a difference in devices. The other 4 all felt the same.

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