Pulse spikes

Sudden unexplained increase in heart rate

by Selwyn - 2024-09-21 10:41:10

Your pacemaker is not likely to be the cause.

You ( and your health carers)  need to find out the cause.

This involves catching the arrhythmia with some sort of recording device ( either hospital led, or  use a Kardia type self monitor) and then getting a medical opinion with the result.

Best of luck.

Spikes

by piglet22 - 2024-09-21 10:42:53

Hello

Get yourself an oximeter with pulse rate (they all mostly do) and are fairly cheap.

Keep it with you and put it on your finger when you feel something going on.

It;s quick and easy and needs no setting up. It will help quantify what's going on.

Your device may or may not capture these events

You may need to talk to your pacing team if something needs looking at or adjusting.

Thanks for input

by serialquilter - 2024-09-21 11:17:39

Thank you for the input.  I also notice when this happens many times I feel dizzy.  I have an appt. With tech in 3 weeks, not supposed to see cardiologist for 6 months, but, I am supposed to fly alone out of state to help my daughter recover from surgery, I am rethinking.  If there is a problem, I do NOt want to get stuck far from home.

scheduled for echo next 

Pulse spikes

by PortCityPacer - 2024-09-21 11:43:01

My suggestion is to start keeping detailed notes of the "pulse spikes". I too have a Boston Scienctific CRT PM and I first noticed what seemed like pulse spikes while I was still in the hospital. I assumed it was something normal so I ignored it. I started noticing it every so often and I thought it was PMT, went to my cardiologist and they reprogrammed me. I continued to have these episodes and I started keeping detailed notes. Initially my HR would spike but after a while I noticed it doesn't change much now, I think Adrenalin from the scare trigged the spike. The episodes occur ever 21 hours at exactly the 56th minute of the hour, then again exactly 5 minutes later, the episode lasts about 60 seconds. I am still logging the events and another pattern is emerging that seems to indicate every few weeks there is a second event exactly one hour after the initial one. There is another member in this group who also has a Boston Scienctific PM had similar episodes but at the 41st minute of the hour, her PM tech said it wasn't possible but I'm not convinced. I have another cardiologist visit coming up and I'm taking my notes to try and find an answer to what are uncomfortable episodes that feel like a tiny hammer tapping my chest. I hope you find a solution to what you are experiencing.

Steverino and Serialquilter

by Rch - 2024-09-21 15:21:45

Steverino, the daily 21 hour palpitations are automatic atrial and ventricular threshold searches in the B.Sci pacemakers. It is normal! But I have them turned off after a year! So, please do check with the device tech about it. My Cardiologist didn't know what I was talking about, seriously!!!🥲You can download B.Sci. manual online and look through! That's what I did. No one tells you all that when you are discharged from the hospital.

Serialquilter

What you described, happens to me too, also usually in the morning when I wake up or when I bend over to pick up something from the floor etc. Mine lasts longer than a minute! But they used to happen to me even before the PM. I figured they were some sort of autonomic impulses, and just took some beta blockers off and on. But in your case, I would wait for a few more weeks until the leads really embed and find a niche for themselves. Regarding your upcoming trip by yourself, you can get disabled access through the airports since you do feel dizzy with your palpitations. You might also be on anticoagulants for A Fib, So, I wouldn't venture on walking alone in the airports! Hope you will get some answers soon after visit to the device tech and the echo.

Rch

by PortCityPacer - 2024-09-21 19:13:25

Rch,  a great big THANK YOU, I found this group by doing an internet search for my symptoms and thanks to your feedback I found the answer. I downloaded the manual for my CRT PM, did a search for "21 hours" and found 11 references for various tests that are performed every 21 hours. My PM was reprogrammed several times trying to help with what may be a perceived problem. I will sleep better tonight knowing this may be normal, I say sleep better but the palpations I feel do wake me when they occurred at 12:56am and 3:56am.

Pulse Spikes and chest tightness

by gman - 2024-09-22 19:25:23

I got a two lead BS pacemaker in early May.  One wire had to be reconnected later that month.  Since then I've had the pulse spikes along with chest tightness.  Sometimes the tightness seems to go right through me - from my breast bone to my spine.  Lightheadedness and dizziness as well. 

The tech at my Cardio clinic made some adjustment.  I think it helped a little - but it's still acting up.  It's not only annoying but scary at times.  Real heart attack symptoms.  

I was in an E-Room a month ago.  While waiting hours for transport from my satellite clinic to the system's 'mother ship' hospital, I watched the BP monitor they had me connected too.  Just laying there my chest would tighten and my pulse would run up to 100 plus/minus a couple of points.  It would 'hover' there for a few seconds and then drop back to normal.  This actually occurred, at a later date, while the PM tech had me connected to her BS software.  So she's actually seen it in action.  

I got a BP/02 finger monitor and used it on my daily walk.   I go about 45 minutes - load my MP3 and out the door.  There's a hill that I go down on the way out and up on the way back.  Not terribly steep but I am breathing pretty hard at the top.  My normal (PM set) pulse is 60.  When walking it's usually 80-85).  When I get to the top of the hill I'm in  the 100-110 range.  When I get home, it reverts to 60 in a couple of minutes (1-3).  So the device does work.  But the side effects are too much.   I think they'll get it figured out.  I hate to have the thing removed.  But the symptoms, new since I got the PM connected correctly, scare me.