New CRT-D

Hi, I have just joined this community. The information on it is very helpful. I am a retired 66 male in the UK. I had a CRT-D installed 9 days ago. Initially the HR was set at 40 but yesterday they reset it to 55 due to being poorly for a week. I suffer from AF and low heart rates and some pauses. The longest pause was 6 seconds which although I wasn't aware of it, seems a scarcely long time. Since the adjustment to 55 yesterday, I had a couple of light headed moments both whilst sitting down. Do other people experience this? Maybe it just the device trying to catch up I'm not sure. I am on bisoprolol and amiodarone plus blood pressure pills. Any comments would be appreciated. Many thanks.

1 Comments

Oh a new CRT-D

by Gemita - 2023-09-23 08:57:52

Hello Graham Harry, a warm welcome.  I see you are very new to the pacing world with a 9 day old Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy  (CRT) device with a defibrillator.  I am assuming the defibrillator is to keep you safe from a potentially dangerous ventricular arrhythmia if you have heart failure which is the usual reason for your CRT.  

I note your problem at the moment seems to be your Afib and some lightheadedness.  I am also an AF sufferer and lightheadedness, dizzy spells, breathlessness, weakness, palpitations and other symptoms may all be present at different times.  

I see you are on a cocktail of meds also for your blood pressure, heart rate and to try to control your arrhythmias.  Amiodarone (an anti arrhythmic medication) is very effective but needs close follow up and no doubt your doctors are watching you for any side effects from this medication.

Ultimately though you have a defibrillator to help with a fast ventricular arrhythmia (or indeed atrial arrhythmia) and your doctor will provide pacing therapies to try to help you to feel more comfortable.

My dual chamber pacemaker was implanted in 2018 and I still occasionally get dizzy spells from AF but on the whole my AF episodes are well controlled on Bisoprolol and with pacing adjustments.  I do not have heart failure, so I do not need a CRT device or a defibrillator for my mainly atrial arrhythmias.

It will take time for your doctors to get those settings adjusted to suit you.  All you can do is to watch for any difficult symptoms and report these promptly, otherwise try to be patient since your heart is in the process of getting used to pacing and this can take a little while.  My healing period following my pacemaker implant was close to 3 months, although some lucky members with a single or dual lead pacemaker feel the benefits much quicker.  A more complicated device like a CRT with a difibrillator may take longer to adjust for the patient to feel comfortable and to make a difference for their often complex condition, so this period cannot be rushed.  Do contact your doctors if ever you are concerned.  Until you know what is normal for you, this might be the safest option.  I expect you have home monitoring and your doctors may wish to remotely check your CRT-D device at any time.

So welcome, keep asking questions and I hope we can all help to make you feel better very soon.

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