GENERAL CHECK UP

Hi all, hope everyone had a nice holiday. I recently saw my EP for a general check up and he changed the settings on my pacemaker from 55 to 60 which he then told me was normal. My last EP who since retired had my pacemaker set on 55 to save life on the battery. I dont know if its me or the higher setting but I feel im not sleeping the whole night and feel my heart more so since he raised the BPM. I was wondering if I should say anything or give it some time> my check up was 2 weeks ago.

7 Comments

Lovely to hear from you

by Gemita - 2023-12-28 18:31:04

Hello Athena, some of us are extremely sensitive to even a 5 bpm change upwards or downwards.  Do you have a night time setting that could be lower and then have it set higher during the day when you most need the extra power perhaps?  You could ask your clinic.

Sleep is important and if you are not sleeping and are feeling miserable, I would have a word with someone before your scheduled appointment in two weeks, if only to find out whether you could have the lower rate set to 55 bpm for sleeping?  I have a night time setting on my Medtronic (which I don't use) but it is there if I ever need it.

Hope all is well Athena and that your AF is under control.  Are you still considering an ablation?  

All the very best for 2024

time

by new to pace.... - 2023-12-28 18:31:46

You should give the new setting more time .  Mine is set 60-130.

 Also make sure you drink enough water.

new to pace

adequate pacing at night

by athena123 - 2023-12-28 18:49:35

Thank you Gemita likewise. I am currently on fleccidne which seems to be controlling the afib. IM considering ablation at some point to see if i can be off of all meds. Hope the little one is doing well. New to Place I will start drinking more water and i will give it another week or so to see if there are any changes. thank you, both 

Hi

by Lavender - 2023-12-28 18:56:33

I know when I initially got my pacemaker, it was set to a low reading of 70bpm. I felt like it was racing as if I drank a pot of coffee. I could not wait til they finally lowered it to 60bpm at my five week post surgery visit!  It felt better right away. So I guess if I were you and used to 55, it might make me notice my heartbeat more. Could you ask the EP if the way you feel will go away in time?

Give it time

by LondonAndy - 2023-12-28 19:23:21

I am torn here: the higher rate will give you more energy during the day, and so generally I agree with New To Pace, and suggest you give it a bit more time to get used to it. I remember when I first got my pacemaker, which was due to surgical complication, I found it difficult to sleep and was wondering if they could do a lower rate per minute at night. But by the time I went for a check-up at three months I had got used to it.

Having said that, if you felt fine before at 55bpm during the day then why change it? Only you can decide if the higher rate is useful for you at times.

55bpm

by Graham Harry - 2023-12-30 13:00:05

I had my CRT-D checked again yesterday and as I am set at 55bpm I asked if 60 was better for me as I have read that anything below 60 is considered bradycardia. I was told that in recent times the experts have felt that 50 to 55 is better as it gives more room for rate increases needed when active. I have been told this on several occasions at the hospital by different consultants and technicians. Having said that, I suppose we are all different and require different settings. Yesterday they changed my rate response, let's see what that does......

response rate

by athena123 - 2023-12-31 15:41:35

Thank you. let me know how it goes.

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