confused

Hello out there......I am so confused, and hope that someone can answer some questions for me. I had a pacemaker put in November 2006 and I am doing fine. I am just confused as to what happened the night I got sick. We were traveling and we were 2 states away from home. I did not feel well so we stopped and got a motel room. Very soon after I vomited 2 times within a 20 minute period and I just figured I had a virus. I soon became nauseated again but realized It was not a vomiting nausea, nor did not I think I was going to pass out as I did NOT have any pre syncope symptoms.The next thing I knew I was waking up. I had lost control of my bowels, something i had never done when passing out. I looked so bad my hubby called an ambulance. They could not get a blood pressure reading and my pulse was
thready. I passed out again on the paramedics when they were taking me to the ambulance. When I got to the hospital I passed out 2 more times and the heart monitor went flat line. (My husband was in the ER room with me when that happened. He thought I had died) I was in the ER for less than 1 hour and then I was sent to ICU, and hooked up to an automatic defibrilator, (they put me to sleep to do that) 2 days later they put in a pacemaker. My cardio here says he can't say what was happening in the hospital because he was not there and did not make the diagnosis. He just says SSS and the pacemaker will take care of that. I do know that in addition to my heart stopping (does that usually happen?) my heart rate was consistantly below 20 BPM, and I also had 5 episodes of significant sinus pauses of greater that 5 seconds. Does all this happen when you have SSS? Did being dehydrated from vomiting bring all of that on? I have read and re-read all about SSS and Heart Block and everything else conduction related and I just get more confused. I do know there is a difference between SSS and Heart Block....and I do not have Heart Block. (That much the Dr. does know!) I just don't know what questions to ask......and most of what happened in the hospital I did not remember.....it was told to me. I have had episodes of passing out for as long as I can remember (I am 52) but they were always at appropiate times so no one was ever concerned and I never had any testing done before this episode. Can anyone make sense of any of this and put it into words that I can understand?? Thanks to all who try!

5 Comments

less confused already!

by piggie07 - 2007-08-13 01:08:08

Thanks so much for all of the input. I looked up Neurocardiogenic Syncope and it certainly fits alot of the symptoms. I am seeing an EP but he is the one who said he was not there when I was having symptoms therefore could not say what was happening.Just says the pacemaker was the right thing to do. I have only seen him on 2 occasions, very briefly, as the tech from Medtronic and the nurse have spent most of the time with me (in fact it was the nurse who read the hospital report and told me about the BPM, asystole, and pauses.......and the tech is the one who explained that it was diagnosed as SSS) Maybe I should opt for a different Dr. Although reading these postings from everyone has made more sense than anything else. My pacemaker site still bothers me but I will save that for another posting! Thanks Donna

Confused about symptoms...

by auntiesamm - 2007-08-13 05:08:36

Hello Donna,

One thing you will find here as you continue searching - although we all have had different symptoms and a variety of diagnoses we all have pacemakers because they are needed. Without these little technical marvels most of us would be in really big trouble, or maybe not here any longer. I was having minimal symptoms which I realized once I got the pacemaker implanted and felt so much better. Every day I am so very grateful I have mine and it works like a charm! Seldom do I give it a second thought any more. God bless you as you continue your search for more answers.

Sharon

RE:Confused

by hotform - 2007-08-13 08:08:52

It certainly sounds like Neurocardiogenic Syncope with SSS. Although I never vomited during an episode, I couldn't think of a time when I had one on a full stomach. On a couple of occasions I had the dry heaves leading up to one however. I think this is different for everyone. Certainly my stomach was not in the mood to have fun.
The low pulse and even the flatlining would seem to be consistent with both. If you have been passing out for as long as you can remember then the NCS and SSS diagnosis would seem to fit. Basically your heart is slowing when it needs to speed up. It is just not getting the electrical signal it needs at the needed time. Thats why they had to give you a pacer. It could be caused by thickening of your heart wall which can come from a number of things, but the 2 that come to mind are heavy exercise such as a runner, or high blood pressure. The thickening of the wall causes the electrical signals to be lost or erratic, therefore the slowing of your heart. Rick

Confused

by boatman50 - 2007-08-13 11:08:27

My heart stopped June 06 and I never had a symptom before. I got a pm that night and all of the cardiologists I saw said I had SSS, or NCS, or vaso vagal syncope but could never explain why it happened out of thin air. After the pm I kept getting dizzy spells and the cardio put me on beta blockers. Kept having the dizzy spells and he wanted to double the meds. I balked at that and he sent me to an EP. Best move evr. Although he can't explain why it happened he did take me off all meds, raised my pm lower rate to 70 bpm and said I had vaso vagal syncope. Key precaution (for me at least) is to stay hydrated. Water and Propel. I think I spend as much time in the bathroom as out I drink so much! But the episodes have decreased very much. There are so many things that you could have, I suggest you go to an EP, they specialize in the hearts electrical system.

Hi,

by Gellia2 - 2007-08-13 11:08:45

My experience leading to my first pacer was very similar, but I did have a congenital third degree heart block. I had what was call a Stokes-Adams attack. This is when the heart rate goes so low or completely stops for many seconds at a time (called asystole). I barfed my guts out for three weeks! Actually, the vagal response (vomiting) to loosing heart rate kept me alive until I was transported to the ER by our EMTs. I also flatlined a number of times and during one, had a stroke. My pacer was inserted as soon as I was stabilized. That was 32 years ago and I do believe that I have missed nothing in life. One thing I did learn in those 32 years is that an EP is invaluable. Find one and have him explain what happened to you to your satisfaction.
Best of luck to you.
Gellia

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I've seen many posts about people being concerned about exercise after having a device so thought I would let you know that yesterday I raced my first marathon since having my pacemaker fitted in fall 2004.