SOB & Exhaustion during exertion

Shortness of breath and Exhaustion

by Gemita - 2024-09-13 18:32:13

Jim, hello, I am sorry your health has taken a turn for the worse.  At 4 months I too felt winded at times.  It was due to my own heart settling down and getting used to pacing and my arrhythmias being out of control during those early months.  My symptoms were certainly worse before they got better I recall.  I too felt frustrated and disappointed.  

I cannot imagine this is entirely caused by your pacemaker settings, although I expect you would benefit from some further adjustments once your doctors know what they are dealing with?  I see that you are due for an echocardiogram and that your monitor will be interrogated in the coming week.

Has the raising of the upper limit to 150 bpm made any difference or improved your symptoms?  I wonder if you have any rhythm disturbances present which will not be helping?

I really hope things improve for you.  Try to stay patient for a little while longer.  Once you know what you are dealing with, your doctors will be in a much better position to make those finer adjustments.  I wonder too whether you would benefit from some cardiac rehabilitation?  I would ask your doctors.  In my experience doctors will want to help us more if they know we want to try to help ourselves.  I am sure it will get better.  You sound as though you are not ready to give up, so I think you will do very well.  I hope for the very best

settings

by Tracey_E - 2024-09-13 21:15:45

They send us home with a good guess but settings are not one size fits all. It's normal to take a few tries to get the settings fine tuned. Go back if it's not right. 

Bradycardia

by Rch - 2024-09-13 22:06:24

Hi

When your HR was 36 in the ER, was it just sinus bradycardia or bradycardia due to heart blocks, or some combination there of. In any case, check your HR when you feel SOB on exertion. That would give some insight into the cause. I'm glad your provider is planning to do an Echo. That would give some idea on non-pacemaker related cause of dyspnea on exertion. Hope you will get your answers soon! 

Pacing can create its own difficulties

by Xtrabeat - 2024-09-14 08:38:58

I really empathise with you over this - I am in a similar position with unresoved issues with PM settings after several resets. I think you need a bit more information to be able to explain your recent deterioration and whether it is due to the PM or your underlying condition. Do you know what your heart rate is when you have these symptoms and whether you are in your own native rythmn or are you being being paced when it happens?  I have a monitor on my Apple watch which lets me record short ECG traces which is very helpful at trying to sort out what is happening - but there are lots of other monitors out there you could try. Please let us know how you get on - good luck

Shortness of breath on exercise

by Selwyn - 2024-09-14 16:06:24

This may be due to the pacemaker, or it may be due to something else. Best to keep all options open.

You should ensure that your pacemaker rate response is activated. Rate response increases the  heart rate with body motion. There are different speeds of onset and offset. Ask what your settings are.

It would be nice to know what your settings are? eg. DDDR: Dual response to detection (triggering and inhibition), Dual-chamber (atrial and ventricular) sensing, Dual-chamber (atrial and ventricular) stimulation, Rate response modulation. This setting should ensure that when you exercise there is optimal synchronisation between the atria ( upper chambers) and the ventricles ( lower chambers of the heart).

Breathlessness is due to lack of oxygen - sometimes, lungs, sometimes the heart, sometimes the carrier ( circulation/blood,  sometimes  the mechanics/muscles, sometimes lack of oxygen. All possibilities should be assessed  starting with  the most likely causes.

You certainly need medical help.

The best of luck. I hope this is easily settled.

Thank you!

by JHCOON - 2024-09-16 22:08:54

I'm grateful for all the kind and informative responses. It seems I'm learning a LOT about cardiac issues that were missed for years by my PCP. Is what it is but I now believe I have found a cardiologist who likes to listen more than talk and is "curious". She ordered complete blood work, including ApoB and Lipo (a) - two tests my PCP told me weren't covered by medicare and "weren't necessary anyway".  My Parkinson's Disease can be blamed for just about anything that ails me so I have to be very careful about that. Again - all of you have given me much to think about and I appreciate you taking the time to respond!  Jim