Shortness of Breath After PM

I am a veteran and for about 15-20 yrs I was treated several times a year for what the docs kept calling chronic bronchitis and sinus infections. About 6 yrs ago I went to a pulmonary specialist outside the military and within 2 visits they diagnosed me with COPD. 

I'd also had 2 heart attacks in the past 30 yrs. One treated with an angioplasty, the other with a triple bypass. After the 1st heart attack it was noted I had an minor AV block. That has never changed over 30 yrs. Whenever checked it had remained constant AND a chart looked identical. A year ago I had emergincy surgery for a blood clot and while in the hospital, I was told my heart would go in and out of afib. I never felt or noticed it. The docs recommended a pacemaker AND put in a Biotronik PM and my  life has never been the same.

I get short of breath a dozen times a day doing almost nothing. I set down for 2-3 minutes and I'm back to normal. I can get on a recumbent bike for 30 minutes and have no SoB, then go to the grocery store - walk down 2 aisles and I'm out of breath. OR I'll come home and walk in my house carrying a sack of groceries and sound like I ran a 60 yrd dash and my chest is pounding. The PM reps have adjusted my PM 8-9 times to no avail. In the past 4 months I've had pulmonary tests, lund xrays, EKG's, CT scans, echo cardiogram, and a PET scan. They tell me all look normal ......... So the question is WHAT or WHY is this happening?

 

 

1 Comments

Breathless in Missouri

by AgentX86 - 2019-08-17 23:57:13

It's not clear why they suggested a PM for Afib.  Did they do an AV ablation, as well?  A pacemaker, by itself, won't do anything for Afib. I suspect it's the Afib rearing its ugly head but not being there, it's impossible to tell.  One tack would be to try to capture an event on your PM.  Try causing your heart to go wonky and then initiate a download to your EP.  You could also invest in a Kardia Mobile.  Maybe that would show something that they can use to get to the bottom of the issue.

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