Pace feeling?

Good evening!

I earned my dual-chamber pacemaker January 2017. I've grown accustomed to the evening checks that I receive: 11:54pm and 12:24am.

However, 3 times today I had a similar thump sensation in my chest, during the day. I've never had that happen before. The first time it occurred sent me into a full-blown panic attack. The other two occurred a couple hours later and only a few seconds apart. No pain at any time and I didn't feel dizzy (except for when I had my panic attack).

Would you say I felt it pace? Also, last night my husband and I over-indulged on beer, sitting around the campfire with friends. Would that have anything to do with it?

I otherwise feel fine. Tired from the late night last night but otherwise okay. I've just never experienced this in the nearly 3 years I've had my pacemaker. Btw, I only have a Medtronic Surescan pacemaker, not an ICD.

Thank you in advance!

2 Comments

No need to freak out

by Gotrhythm - 2019-12-28 19:34:42

I doubt if you would suddenly start feeling your device pace after almost three years.

What is much more common is feeling PVC's, preventricular contractions. Sometimes they produce a heavy thump in the chest.

Fortunately, PVCs "normal." They are considered benign. Almost everyone (heart patient or not) has them sometimes.

I have them--probably everybody here does--but I rarely feel them. I only noice them when they do the heavy thump thing.

Why the thump happens sometimes but not others, I couldn't tell you.

Takeaway message: by themselve, PVCs, and all the other little arrythmias are nothing to freak out about. To me, they are kind of like rain. Rain happens to everyone. A few drops mean nothing.  And it's only a danger if you get way, way too much of it. 

Evening Checks

by jamfer - 2020-01-03 13:07:43

Hello, I asked the pacemaker tech to turn off the daily testing.  The daily test was always happening at night and would wake me out of a deep sleep.  It felt like my heart was being zapped.  She turned it off and those nightly wake up zaps stopped.  Might be something to consider.  I have very similiar heart arrhythmias daily.  I think they're PVC's. Tachycardia is easy to feel and record on my Apple Watch but PVC's aren't something I can catch to show the doctor.  I can sympathize with you and wish you all the best. 

You know you're wired when...

Your electric tooth brush interferes with your device.

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