choosing a pacemaker

your pacemaker

by new to pace.... - 2024-02-12 06:40:54

it would help if you would fill in part of your bio as to where you live as sometimes our answers to your query, depends on that as the US is sometimes different say then other countries.

I have a bedside monitor for my nightly and quarterly transmissions..  As to using your phone for that.  will you wait for others to answer you might go to the search and ask your question.  As that has been asked and answered.  Clik on what looks like a magnifying  glass near the logout.

new to pace

Welcome

by Gemita - 2024-02-12 08:07:11

I am sorry you have had difficulties posting.  I noticed several duplicate posts from you early this morning on the same subject and that you were having problems with spell check.  Anyway, welcome to the Pacemaker Club.

Very briefly my feeling is why go for an older pacemaker model when you can get the latest model with up to date technology, perhaps a longer lasting battery, with all the advantages that that would bring?  I have an older model of Medtronic for example which is not blue toothed enabled and I am having to use old equipment and a reader to transmit data from my pacemaker to my pacemaker clinic, when I have the latest smartphone, more than capable of connecting to my pacemaker if only it had had blue tooth technology.

If you need a pacemaker then I would focus on just that and the potential dangers of not getting support for your heart condition, since this is more important than worrying about “potential” interference from devices around us.  The dangers from a dangerously low heart rate are very real and will need addressing.  I am not sure that your doctor can help you to overcome your fears about modern technology, but I hope they can help you to choose the best pacemaker to suit your lifestyle and to encourage you to get one if you need one?

Go to Learn, then click on FAQs, then click on Club Info and scroll down to Interferences, then Choose Category and you will find a list of Frequently Asked Questions about things like Can I safely use computers, cellular phones, headphones, electric blankets and so on, with a pacemaker?  Good luck and I hope you make the best decision

Bit Confused?

by Penguin - 2024-02-12 08:17:06

Hi and Welcome from me too! 

Couple of questions: 

You mention being on the gurney in theatre. Does this mean that you already have a pacemaker implanted for a H.Rate of 38 bpm.  Are you wanting to discuss the different options for home monitoring e.g. how the clinic communicate with your device? 

Some of us here had pacemakers implanted before home monitoring was invented. We relied on annual or more frequent visits to pacing clinics for downloads.

 It depends on how your clinic / insurance likes to operate, but if you are totally phobic about technology which uses WIFI, you  could request 6 monthly visits (in person) to the clinic rather than using the technology which connects with your pacemaker. 

This may also depend on your diagnosis. E.g. For bradycardia / Sinus node disease without any other complications, a pacemaker is a relatively simple solution.  I can't comment personally but straightforward AV block may be similar.  However, if you have a dangerous heart rhythm abnormality that requires monitoring, all parties may feel more comfortable if you are monitored more regularly and as necessary with alerts set up that the clinic can act on. 

Maybe discuss this with your cardiologist and insurers. 

Monitoring

by Beni - 2024-02-12 08:23:32

I have a blue toothed device which uses the myMerlinPulse app.

I was given the option of being monitored or not.  And if I chose to be monitored, the information could be sent either by wifi or via data on my phone.  Because I live in a very rural location where phone reception is frequently poor, I chose wifi.

I can tell you that the remote monitoring has been invaluable since it has allowed the technicians to address, remotely, one or two minor issues before they became major ones. 

Best wishes.

Bluetooth or not

by Gotrhythm - 2024-02-12 16:11:41

I am on my second pacemaker, which is Bluetooth enabled. The first was implanted before Bluetooth was even a Thing. Having lived with both, I can definitely report Bluetooth makes the required monitoring easier.

About the risks of Bluetooth, I cannot say. Perhaps it does offer some increased risk that I will die of cancer. But at my age, 81, I will most likely to die of something else, long before damage, if any, done by Bluetooth radiation becomes apparent.  

Since you admit you are a "radiation phobe," I surmise you are of a nervous, or anxious temperament. A degree of anxiety about getting a pacemaker, any pacemaker, is so common that it can be considered normal. A common anxiety is that the pacemaker will malfuction and fail.

A great advantage of Bluetooth pacemakers is that they are routinely monitored every 24 hours vs every 6 months in the old style models. Any hint of less than ideal performance is caught long before it's a problem for you. Also, the device can be programmed to detect certain cardiac arrythmias should they arise, and your cardiologist can be alerted as soon as they occur--vs 3-6 months later. 

So it is possible that a Bluetooth-enabled pacemaker is safer than the older models.

Since anxiety about getting a pacemaker is normal, it is possible that much of the anxiety you now feel is being produced not by fear of Bluetooth, but by the fact that with an HR of 38 you don't feel strong, or capable, and you are not mentally at your sharpest, able to make good decisions. Any degree of anxiety that was perhaps natural for you would could only be made worse by a slow heartrate. Dithering over Bluetooth/not Bluetooth might be just a way of putting off getting a pacemaker.

It is possible that once you have a pacemaker, you will feel so much better because your brain is getting enough oxygen that whatever slight risks Bluetooth-enabled devices might entail, will seem negligible.  Hey, it could happen!