GERD after pacemaker

It's not unknown for PM to activate the diaphragm

by crustyg - 2024-10-08 11:20:57

It shouldn't happen, especially not with bipolar pacing leads, but there are a few contributors here who have clearly had their diaphragm activated (==paced) by their device.

Pacing of structures outside the pericardium strongly suggests any or all of

1 Incorrect RV lead placement (anterior wall of RV is the common mistake in an uncommon problem)

2 Partial penetration of the RV by the pacing lead: very uncommon and needs to be fixed as a matter of urgency

3 Excessive pacing voltage for the RV lead

4 Fallback pacing mode (some PMs fall back to unipolar (==can to lead tip, instead of lead tip=>lead collar)) which is much more likely to result in muscle activation outside the heart. 

Get your PM settings to check pacing mode, and charm your EP-doc into showing you the lateral chest X-ray which should have been taken immediately after first lead implantation.  If there isn't one, politely insist on one....

Been diagnosed with GERD after implant and I know it's due to the pacemaker....

by sgmfish - 2024-10-08 14:17:45

I'm curious.....how do you know that?

pacemaker-induced GERD

by Julros - 2024-10-08 15:46:53

I have a biventricular pacemaker and I believe my LV wire triggered GERD in me. I had twitching of my diaphragm, that was positional. I had a treadmill test with a device rep to adjust my pacer for exercise and mentioned the twitching and GERD. My LV lead is quadripolar, so he redirected the origin of the impulse and that eliminated my symptoms. 

Hmmm

by Lavender - 2024-10-09 16:53:34

Could more anxiety post pacemaker have led to more stomach acid🧐

thanks for the GERD stories

by PaceCahr - 2024-10-16 12:17:12

I had some amount of GERD before implant, but at home after the 8-week "start going back to life" I started having serious incidents of acid reflux - several times being woken up by a mouthful of pure hot acid. My doc put me on a PPI.  While I still detect reflux, it's not acidic anymore.  

I have been having terrible bloating that seems to prevent my lungs from expanding into my abdomen since the implant - but every doc seems to blame it on the Prednisone I've been on since my hospital stay and device implant. All the Docs blame it for the GERD and the acid. 

I'm having a combined colon/endoscopy at the end of the month, I will pass on the diaphragm and lead voltage info/thoughts to the gastro folks and make sure to mention it to the device tech that is supposed to be there in case they need to do any electrocautery. 

The worst part is - I feel that my PVCs (2 years prior to my cardiac event last May) are related to vagal/gastro/hormonal variations that can be controlled by diet - but NONE of the cardiologists was willing to even give that a nanosecond of thought. When I mentioned the hormone swing ++ PVCs one cardiacPlumber told me "ask your gyne about that" 

grrrr.