Worried

I've only had my icd for about 3 months now. My cardiologist and surgeon stated I'll have a normal life, well it doesn't feel normal. Very little pressure in my upper chest, lower throat after I eat,, a little pains around my icd and the right side of my chest, a little light-headed. The weird thing is when I walk I feel ok. Is this normal? My pc and cardiologist said everything looks and sounds good. My pc did order a ct I'm just waiting for the results. 

How am I supposed to be feeling? 

1 Comments

Wait for CT results. I am sure everything is going to be okay

by Gemita - 2021-02-25 05:06:18

Hello Lacuna Coil, how are you supposed to be feeling?  That is a challenging question.  Well clearly you are not feeling yourself but it may not be totally related to your ICD/pacemaker.  I would await your scan results and then ask your doctors further questions.  

With your pacemaker/ICD you will be protected from falling heart rates or from a dangerous arrhythmia or from any sudden loss in cardiac function since your pacemaker/ICD would kick in to protect you but if your heart is managing well on its own, your implant system will just watch and wait.

I wonder whether the walking makes you feel better because it raises your blood pressure/heart rate whereas at rest these fall naturally.  When you go back for another check you could ask them to have a look at your settings to see if your lower rate is set appropriately for you.  Mine is set higher which makes me feel better and helps keep my blood pressure up too.

The lightheadedness is a bit of a concern, although very common with an arrhythmia and any sudden changes in heart rate/blood pressure.  Are you keeping well hydrated because dehydration can make this worse.  Your general doctor may want to do some blood checks if your digestive symptoms don't improve.  

Three months is still early days and your heart will still be settling down and getting used to pacing.  (It took me at least 6 months to get used to pacing).  Maybe your heart condition has changed (progressed) or your medication has been adjusted or needs revising?  Mine did following my pacemaker implant.

Yes everything usually looks and sounds good according to our doctors but it is a little bit more complicated than that, isn't it everyone!  We all know our hearts may not respond well to what has been set up in our pacemakers and may need tireless adjustments over a long period to get everything tailored to suit our personal needs.  But it will be a controlled process to protect us and to keep us safe during any adjustments.  We shouldn't rush the initial settling in period and we need to take our time to get the settings right for us.  

Good luck with your ICD implant.  Always remember it is there to protect you, to potentially save your life.  Work with it, don't fight it and it will treat you well.  I hope your scan results give useful information or complete reassurance that all is healing as it should

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