Life expectancy

You will!

by Benjijohn - 2019-12-31 04:24:49

I can hear you brother. Just take good care of your health and you will live the beatiful life you deserve

People live years and years with a pm, to even see their grandchildren

Trust me on this one. As long as you take extra good care of your health, the chances of you dying from your heart condition is the same as getting hit by a car

Do not be pessimistic. Some of us are here because we did not take care good care of our health in the past.  And some others like you were just unlucky and born this way

In any case, this is the hand we are dealt. All will be good as long as you take good care of healrh and you will live the beautiful life tou deserve

Wish you the best

Life Expectancy

by donr - 2019-12-31 06:54:36

No one kniows how long you can live with a PM.  Thay have not been around long enough to establish life eppectancy.  The worlsd's record is in the viciunity of 49 years, so you have a long way to go to make that goal.  Technology is growing and changing so rapidly that you cannot predict it.  The record holder posted in here sometime in the last year.  If you have 15 years of a normal life, & you are healthy, you have a good start on beating that record.  15 yrs is not uncommon at all.  Wew have several hosts with 30 + years..  I'm sure you will hear from them sometime soon.

Donr

So

by Pacer2019 - 2019-12-31 22:16:56

My question in repose to yours is .....if you knew a specific number like say 20 years how would that change how you live your life ? 10? A day? 
second question... if you assume the worst what would be the consequences if you are wrong ? 
suposee you assume best case and are wrong ? What would those consequences be ?

me I would rather be wrong assuming best case than worst AND many times when we assume worst case we end up making it happen .... any man whoever said "I can't " was always right. 
 

I once assumed I was a short timer and it almost killed me ....I was almost right.  I finally woke up and embraced life.
 

you are 19..... plan for a long normal life- you won't be sorry.  
 

Live long and prosper

by mrag - 2020-01-01 12:36:01

Think of the science we have already seen. Artificial parts, cloning, transplants, ICDs, CRTs. At 19 I'd be more worried about Climate Warming than a heart condition. Just make sure to look both ways when crossing the street.

life expectancy

by Tracey_E - 2020-01-03 16:18:37

I also have congenital complete heart block, have been paced 25 years and had 5 pacers. I'm 53 so have a few years on you. I have never once had a doctor tell me that this will shorten my life expectancy. Yes I've asked :o) 

I am healthy and active, have two children, 21 and 22 so they are pretty much grown now. I've not only watched them grow up, I keep up with them.  I hiked the Grand Canyon with the younger one last fall. I ran a few miles with the oldest this morning before she left to go back to college. She'll be home again in 3 weeks so we can do a mud run on Saturday then a half marathon on Sunday. I fully expect to continue to keep up with them and enjoy grandchildren when the time comes. 

To give you an idea how quickly technology can advance, I was diagnosed when I was 5 also, but that was 1970 and pacers were very new and very limited so they didn't give them to children unless it was life threatening. That means I grew up with a lot of limitations because my heart rate never went up. At one time I was told I'd never be strong enough to have kids of my own. They were wrong. I wish I could have a chat with my childhood cardiologist, show him all the things I can do now that he thought I'd never been able to do. Now, kids like you are paced so you can grow up being as active as you want. I can't even imagine where things will be  by the time you are my age. 

We are fortunate to live in a time with amazing technology, and to have a condition that is more or less fixed with pacing. You can do or be pretty much anything you want. Go ahead and dream your dreams and go after your ambitions! 

Technical Observation

by Ancient1914 - 2020-01-05 21:03:45

Hi, from experience I would expect you will get a new PM when the battery starts to get a bit low.
However scar tissue forms around the leads and also leads wear out or fracture.
I have to have one of my leads replaced this year and it seems it is quite an ordeal.
Apart from Battery life which mean a new device every 10 or so years it will be the leads that can be an issue.
Also the devices available in 2020 don't readily connect to my 20 year old leads.

You'll live forever.
Ancient 1914