pacemaker has been dormant for a while...choice to remove?

Praying

by Lavender - 2024-01-18 17:34:27

May your prayers guide you to the choice that's best for you. A few questions :

How did you know, ten years ago, that your heart paused? Were you wearing a monitor? If so, why were you wearing a monitoring device?

Also you said "my endocrinologist theorized may have contributed to my heart having trouble maintaining it's rhythm.  He said there must be some anomally in my heart for this to happen, though as it wouldn't occur in a healthy heart. "

So, back then your heart wasn't thought to be normal. If it pauses again it could be a final pause. You already have the leads in place and it's not a bad recovery to replace the battery box. Wouldn't it be best to have that safety net? We're not getting any younger. 
 

Two of my pauses pre-pacemaker were long enough to give me near death experiences. Ya never know which pause might be a bit too long. 
I think I would opt for the new pacemaker. 😉 They don't replace batteries. It would be a new pacemaker. 

What I hear

by Pacer2019 - 2024-01-18 17:36:30

My question to you : would its removal give you less or more confidence in pushing yourself ?

I was once living in fear like that .... finally a Doctor told me what I needed to hear :

"What you are so scared of happening is going to come true if you don't get after it "

to me your key is feeling confident you  can do more than walk on egg shells - PM or no PM .

To me I would want to have it on board  and maybe even an ICD - 

address the fatigue through other means ... keep the PM - just in case - then go get after life 

"a man who says I can or I can't is always right "

thanks

by fiddlerpaul - 2024-01-18 18:35:03

Angry Sparrow

thanks for your comments.  It seems this mysteriousness is fairly common.

I've read there are risks to removal so that makes me hesitant, not to mention the possibility I might need it again.  I don't really know if it was removed if I would get my energy flow back.  If I did, I probably would go ahead with removal.

Lavender

I just got dizzy and passed out.  Further incidents of passing out happening in emergency. 

re the endoctrinologist comments...he was fishing for a reason my heart stopped.  Said maybe my heart was maybe having trouble keeping up with my thyroid changes from hypo to hyper and back again BTW the way it normalized soon after and has been fine since.

Pacer2019

My problem with exercise hasn't been fear related, but the effect that exercise has on me.  I don't enjoy it like I used to , just feel worse in the left side of my chest which basically ruins my sense of well being.   Don't know how to explain it any other way.  It's like there's a cap on my energy.

Consultation

by piglet22 - 2024-01-19 07:30:32

Go to your consulatation and either mentally or physically list all the things you want to ask.

Make sure they all get answered and ticked off.

It sounds unusual to have a pacemaker fitted then find you don't need it. I'm not saying it's impossible.Some people do have temporary pacemakers but you would expect to be told that.

I was warned decades ago that heart block tended to worsen over the years, and so it has.

The chest tightening might be something totally unrelated, but you need to find out.

Personally, I might opt to keep it as you've been through the worse bit and complete extraction means leads as well. There's the possibility of things going wrong.Leads can be capped off if they aren't going to interfere with something else.

Ultimately, you have to listen to the consultant and get them to fully explain the case for either option.

Good luck

Risk

by Selwyn - 2024-01-19 08:02:40

The exact diagnosis is important. What is your pathology?

Present guidelines suggests that lack of heart beat for over 3 seconds is consideration for a pacemaker.  You also mention your heart slowing. A rate of less than 40 beats per minute might be consideration for a pacemaker, and also whether you are having symptoms.

Any problems with the pacemaker should be raised as a matter of clinical care.

Now, when it comes to choice. The final decider is yourself.

You can have a fresh pacemaker.

You can leave your pacemaker in place even if it doesn't function.

You can have the leads removed, the box removed, or the lot removed.

There are risks to your well being and life with lead removal.

There may be risks to your life with not having a pacemaker.

In evaluating risk, you take your chances. All the doctors can do is to offer you information as to the risk, after that it is your decision.  The risk of death is 100%. It is the bit before that we should be concerned with. 

what to do

by Tracey_E - 2024-01-19 10:00:18

If there is even the tiniest chance you may need it at some point in the future (not feeling good from a rate of 45, pauses), then I would leave it alone. Not replace, but not remove. That leaves you an easy back up plan if you end up changing your mind down the road.

Extraction after 10 years isn't usually overly complicated when performed by someone who specializes in extraction, but it's not to be taken lightly either. You could meet with the surgeon to evaluate what your personal risks are, then use that to help make a decision. 

You could also remove the box, cap off the leads and leave them. 

Something to consider, if you have a pause, it will only kick in for 2-3 beats. This will be statistically insignificant and can show up as 0. 60 bpm is 86,000 beats a day, 604,000 a week. So if it kicks in for 2 beats once a week, that means it's working 0.00000331 percent of the time. But that tiny percentage is significant if it keeps you from passing out. If it were me, I would want to be 1000% sure it's not pacing AT ALL before going to the trouble to remove it. 

mystery

by fiddlerpaul - 2024-01-19 12:35:23

I'm feeling right now that the fact there never has been any diagnosis as to why my heart stopped leaves me needing to error on the side of caution, which means replacing the battery.  Not willing to take the risks associated with removal and the possibility I'll need it later.  

It's kind of hard realizing your body is entering a phase of greater physical limitation but I have much to be thankful for with family.  And I still have some areas of life that keep me engaged, albeit fewer and different.

Thanks for all the comments.  It's amazing there are actually people here to reach out to.  

electrical problems

by Tracey_E - 2024-01-19 14:18:28

Ever buy two electronic devices- phone, tv, microwave, etc- one peters out for no good reason a year later but the other is going strong a decade later? Electrical systems of the heart are like this also. Sometimes it's age. Some medications, surgeries, or infections can cause it. Sometimes it's just bad luck. Most of us never know why it happened to us. Electrical systems can get glitchy. 

New Pacing

by Terry - 2024-01-19 21:06:57

Be sure your doctors tell you whether or not you have ischemic heart disease.

By this time, your EP could put in a new pacemaker and pace it at any rate. They used to lower the rate to allow for natural, physiological ventricular activation to avoid what he calls "pacing induced cardiomyopathy." Now he can place the lead's electrode at the His bundle or left bundle branch and avoid causing pacing induced heart failure.

If you use Microsoft Edge, click on Bing in the upper right-hand corner and start asking any questions you may have 

Terry