Device adjustment

Had atrial stenosis and AF for years, was given the Edward's valve on July 22, 2022 at the Cleveland Clinic, OH, USA. All appeared to be in good order, and was discharged after overnight stay in hospital. On July 26th I presented at my local primary care provider in acute heart failure, with very low heart rate and very high BP. Had a St. Jude Medical Assurity MRI PM2272 DDDR installed within an hour and a half. Since then recovery has been slow, with bouts of dizzyness and general lack of energy at the least attempt at movement. I am on Eliquist and Metropolol  12.5 mg BID in the evening. BP runs 115-120/75-78, pulse of course is always 81(+/- 2). I am due for the first check-up of the device on August 2nd. My question is: can the device be adjusted to improve my situation?

4 Comments

Adjusting

by Lavender - 2022-07-31 17:06:33

Hi there.  You're early in the game. It'll get easier. They adjusted my CRT-P device at the hospital then again at the one month checkup. There're a lot of settings they can try for you. I too had a couple woozy spells early on but found that was due to not drinking enough water. Your body is working at a different pace and staying hydrated is important.  More water than you are used to can be helpful !

 

I was exhausted while healing and took a daily nap. If I didn't lie down, I found myself nodding off anyway.  Physically and emotionally, my body was telling me to get rest as I healed. 
 

Make some notes about how you're feeling and bring it along to your next appointment. I'm thinking it's your one week wound check. At my one week check, they didn't interrogate the pacemaker. 
 

I was used to such a low heart rate that adjusting to the faster beat tired me out. Your journey will change along the path. It'll get manageable!

Antithrombotics in valvular A Fib

by Rch - 2022-07-31 22:22:14

Hi, Just a question aside from the pacemaker. Direct oral anticoagulants like Eliquis are generally used in non-valvular A Fib. Just wondering how this works with the Edwards valve. Unless they have explained it to you , you might want to touch base with the Cardiologist. 

Adjustments

by wendikt - 2022-08-01 13:53:53

I would be tired all the time too if my heart rate was always at 81! Maybe you should get them to adjust that down. My pacemaker is set at 60, as is most people's. Not everyone, but most. Especially if you're just lounging around and your heart is going that fast. Mine used to be set at 70 and I felt that was too high. We changed it to 60, and it's much better. Just ask for adjustments as many times as you need to to get it right for you. You're the one that has to live with it, so tweak it until you feel better. No pacer clinic should be opposed to that. Sometimes it just takes time and lots of tweaks. Check into what's called "Rate Response" as well. That being adjusted can help too. Good luck!

Heart rate?

by AgentX86 - 2022-08-01 23:33:43

Do you mean that your heart rate is always 80bpm or your resting heart rate is always 80bpm? One or two bpm is just a measurement/resolution error. If your rate is always 80bpm no matter your activity, there is something wrong with your rate response.

If your resting rate is 80bpm, that's how your PM's low limit is set.  It's high but not at all unusual for an intital setting.  Mine was set to 80bom with the intention of setting it back to 70 a month later and 60 a month after that. I ran into bigeminal PVCs in the second month so they set it back to 80, and that's where it's been for four years now. I do have a nighttime setting of 50bpm from 12:00AM to 8:00AM.

There are many adjustments that can be made but the cause is not clear. Let us know more tomorrow.

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