How to read data

Depends on what you want to know

by crustyg - 2019-08-29 13:04:53

I know, it seems like a rude and patronising start, but seriously, it *does* depend on what you'd like to know: are your leads working well, have the pacing voltage(s) changed much since implantation, how much of the time are you paced, all Atrial, some Ventricular, are you having episodes of abnormal rhythm etc.

You haven't provided much information about your setup, primary diagnosis, how well you're feeling, whether your PM is allowing you to achieve your goals or just live life without the worry of collapsing.

Along with a number of very active members of this forum I'm a great believer in understanding as much as possible about my condition, the treatment options, the likely future, getting the most out of my slightly worn heart etc.  In short, the patient from hell!  However, IMHO, all good doctors understand that informed patients are generally happier patients and the more that they are confident that you understand what's going on and why your PM is doing what it is, the more they are likely to tell you.

Does that help as a start?

I'll share anything I can that I feel reasonably confident about - but there are great contributors here who have tens of years more practical, personal experience.  We're in this together.

The usual stuff

by crustyg - 2019-08-29 13:24:40

There will be a section about how well your PM is doing, the voltages used for pacing, the settings (AGC), sensing thresholds etc.  Then a section about how well your heart is being paced - which lead is being used if you have two, how much of the time your heart is relying on your PM, how much time your heart is at which HR band (slow, med-slow, medium, med-fast, fast, too-fast etc.), evidence of AV-node conduction etc.

Then a section about the things that your PM has been configured to record - episodes of abnormal rhythm, changes of settings by programmer, changed settings due to what it's detected from your heart etc.

And there may be other parts that MedT use.  I'm not a MedT expert...

How to read data

by kforinas - 2019-08-29 15:37:56

I'm interested in the section on what is going on with my heart. I had some bradycardia events with near syncope while exercising (caught with an external monitor) which required the PM. I also have aFib, treaded via metropolol. I was told the PM was only to avoid bradycardia. 

Specific things the Medronics Quick Look Report has that I don't understand:

Therapies   .. all Rx off  (which means? it isn't doing anything?)

Pace Terninated Episodes, % time since Jan 2019: VP 0.4% MVP On;  AP 84.2%

(does this mean the PM is doing more than just waiting for bradycardia? MVP is managed ventrical pacing? VP is ventrical pacing? So is the PM has activated to stop ventrical and atrial tachycardia and/or bradycardia?)

% of time (out of AT/AF):

AS-VS 19.9%    (atrial sensing, ventrical sensing?)

AS-VP <0.1%  (atrial sensing, ventrical pacing?)

AP-VS 80% (atrial pacing, ventrical sensing?) 

AP-VP <0.1% (atrial pacing ventrical pacing?)

In general I feel good (for 66 years old), still bike and swim, have not had any syncope events that I have noticed (although according to the PM data there have been two short ventrical events and many short aFib events in the last 6 months). I am asymptomatic now that I got over my initial panic from all this. I do occasionally have a few palpitations but they don't correspond to anything in the data as far as I can tell. 

Where can I get a manual that explains the Medtronics data?

numbers

by Tracey_E - 2019-08-30 10:21:58

https://www.medtronic.com/content/dam/medtronic-com/01_crhf/brady/pdfs/201801292b-en_azure%20broch_p24_prnt.pdf

http://manuals.medtronic.com/manuals/main/en_US/home/index

you are correct, A = atrial, V = ventrical, S = sensing (watching), P = pacing

If your heart races on its own, the pacer can't stop it. It may record that it happened, but it can't do anything about it. It's a gas pedal, not a brake.

Some of them can pace faster during a tachycardia episode trying to pace the heart out of the arrhythmia, maybe that's what it's showing. Mine doesn't do that so that's just a guess.