Micra Pacemaker

Conditions?

by AgentX86 - 2019-08-05 22:07:37

Well, you know you've had at least one sinus pause.  That's enough to buy a pacemaker.  You may have other arrhythmias, as well.  Did they leave the loop recorder in, or did they remove it when they inserted the Micra? If they left it in, it'll figure out if there are any other issues.  From your other symptoms, I'd expect you to have Bradycardia, as well.

As far as the pause not being detected before, a Holter certainly would have found it, if you were being monitored when you had the sinus pause.  That's kinda a huge target - impossible to miss.  The PM set at 40bpm sounds low but it's certainly possible. I would have expected 50, as a minimum but your cardiologist is, well, a cardiologist and I'm not.  ;-)

welcome

by Tracey_E - 2019-08-06 09:00:10

Glad you found us. We have a few other members with micras. There is an itty bitty search button at the top right. MIcras are exciting technology, you don't have leads, which for most of us is the weakest part of pacing, the part that causes the most problems when it wears out. 

Sinus pause is a condition, that's what you have. It's good to do the genetic testing and other tests but many of us don't get answers. We have short circuits, many of us are otherwise healthy and have no family history. Unless we happen to be on a monitor when it happens, it can go many years undiagnosed, as you just learned. The important part is they found it and fixed it so now your heart won't stop again! It's nice to get more answers, but don't be surprised if the answer is we don't know. 

Market Disrupter?

by CatDad - 2019-08-06 11:03:38

Will Micras and their clones be the future of PMs? Will my 2 month-old Medtronic Azure be eventually replaced with something like that? Will PMs with leads become export-only until their supply channels empty?

Pretty exciting times for us paced people.

Market disruptor

by AgentX86 - 2019-08-06 15:12:38

It's highly unlikely that the Micra will ever be much more than a niche player. It's single ventricle only, so the cardiac conditions where it's a useful treatment are limited.

"single ventricle only"

by CatDad - 2019-08-06 20:29:30

That occured to me, too, but also made me wonder if two or more of the little buggers in different chambers couldn't Bluetooth and coordinate with each other. A pacemaker array!

Bluetooth?

by AgentX86 - 2019-08-06 23:12:37

Are you seriously proposing unlicensed frequencies be used for life sustaining use? That doesn't even consider the additional power needed for the transmitters an receivers.  Paint me skeptical (at least).

Pacemaker Array

by CatDad - 2019-08-08 12:58:30

http://news.rice.edu/2018/04/24/heart-is-where-the-chips-are-helping-keep-the-beat-2/

Pacemaker Array

by AgentX86 - 2019-08-08 23:16:52

You do know the difference between a university/research press release and reality, don't you?