Just come out fitting my.pacemaker 1 hour go

Palpitations--Good news and bad news

by Gotrhythm - 2019-12-10 14:11:05

The good news first. Your pacemaker isn't causing the palpitations. Palpitations are something the heart is doing on its own.

The bad news. A pacemaker can't prevent or eliminate palpitations.

Just having a pacemaker is a new experience for you, it's also a new experience for your heart, and if you just got a pacemaker, your heart has had no time to get used to it. You can expect your heart to need a period of adjustment.

Many people seem to have more palpitations, or notice them more after getting a pacemaker. Most palpitations are considered "normal" are not a cause for concern.

Palpitations?

by Graham M - 2019-12-10 15:47:21

For the first few days, I thought I was having palpitations as my HR was in the  high 80's, but it felt much faster because I wasn't used to such a high resting rate. It gradually improved and I now have a resting HR of 65 - 75.

Graham.

Depends what we mean by palpitations

by crustyg - 2019-12-10 18:21:24

For some people, this just means 'I can feel my heart beating', for others it means more 'I feel that my heart is beating in a non-rhythmic fashion', and for others it can mean 'I feel my heart is beating more strongly, powerfully than before'.

Depending on why you've ended up with a PM, any or all of these might apply to you.  If you've been running on a junctional rhythm (perhaps due to SSS) then having your atria contract in a normal way before your ventricles might feel odd and you're now more aware of this.

You're bound to be more aware of your heart beating in the immediate post-PM implantation period, and it doesn't *necessarily* mean that something is wrong.  I expect they've done a post implant ECG: was it normal?

If you've been used to a resting heart rate in the 30s per minute, then 60bpm is going to feel really fast, and it might be sensible to ask for it to be reduced to 50bpm.  For me, going from 38 kicks in the chest (I sleep on my left side, and my heart is enlarged) to 50 gentle beats per minute with the PM made sleeping much easier.  It varies a lot from person to person.