Pacemaker Battery Life

I had a pacemaker fitted in July 2018 and I was told that it’s expected life span was about 9 years.  I have been for a check up today and have been told that, due it’s extra usage, the expected life style had reduced to 3 years.  The cardiologist I saw said that he was referring my case to my consultant.

Can anyone tell about the likely cause please?

Thank you.

John

3 Comments

High resistance in the leads?

by LondonAndy - 2019-04-30 18:55:23

I am paced 100%, and the last estimate for the battery life would make it 7 - 8 years of life in total, so perhaps it is not an increase in the amount you are paced.  High resistance in the leads is a possibility - if the conductivity is poor the pacemaker has to work harder, at a higher voltage, to trigger a pulse.  But I am speculating, and it is also worth remembering that these calculations are only estimates.  So best bet is to ask

leads

by Tracey_E - 2019-05-01 18:04:38

My guess would be a lead not in a good spot and it's taking extra juice to get it to pace. Just pacing even if you used all the extra features and paced every beat would not run it down that quickly. I would ask about it because if it's a new lead it can be repositioned now while it's easy to do. The longer they are in place, the more scar tissue holds them in place. You want your leads to outlast several devices, so it's important to have them in a good spot.

Usage

by Finn - 2019-05-06 11:18:06

That’s very odd! I think you should have a meeting with the Dr and the pace maker manufacture, also ask about the leads, re calls, etc.

id also call the company directly, squeaky  wheel philosophy

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