Upcoming battery replacement

Hello all, 

Wow! Has time flown by... I first joined this club when I got my pacemaker implant in 2011.

I am due for battery/pacemaker replacement in May, and have recently been experiencing unusual flutter/wheezy/mild SOB. Could this be a result of my battery power decreasing? Of note, my atrial lead is a bit wonky and is requiring increased voltage, also... I have recently been tested for covid 19, and am negative, so it's not that.

thank you so much for any insight

take care and stay safe 

Lisa

 

 

 

3 Comments

what is your rate

by dwelch - 2020-03-30 01:28:18

take your rate, a full minute.  are you at say 65 BPM? all the time?  If your pacer is close and has gone into a safety mode it will lock your heart at one rate, which when you climb stairs or whatever can wipe you out, weak, shortness of breath.   No worries you have a few months to get the device replaced, but you should feel this if/when you get to this mode.

If your rate is normal, if you exert yourself and the rate changes, then it probably isnt the device it should be working normally. 

 

Battery

by Lisarose - 2020-03-30 12:19:28

Thank you for your reply dwelch.

my rate was 72, so unless it's locked at a higher rate, probably not the case. 
 

I didn't realize this occurred regardless, thanks for the heads up.

take care,

Lisa

Another possibility for your symptoms

by Terry - 2020-03-30 14:41:21

One more thing you can do. Ask your doctor if your "ejection fraction" has decreased. That could be a sign of impending "pacing induced cardiomyopathy" that can occur if the electrode of your ventricular lead is in the apex of your rignt ventricle, bypassing your cardiac conduction system (Google that). If the lead is placed to pace the "His bundle" sothat your ventricles contract normally, pacing induced cardiomyopathy can be avoidd according to the literature, Google His bundle or see <www.His-pacing.org>.

Terry

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