Dizziness post surgery

I am new to the forum, having surgery for a pacemaker 10 days ago. I'm 75 and still very active,  and live in Ontario Canada, north of Toronto.  I was diagnosed with a Level 4 block.

The pacemaker is a Medtronic Azure S DR MRI SafeScan. I have not received my card yet, so I don't know any of the settings. The temporary card only gives make and model.

i have an issue with slight to moderate dizziness.  This seems to come on only during light walking exercise. My recent walks are 2 miles on a rural road which has varying terrain. Dizzy spells seem to come on when challenged with hills. Spells are not intensive enough to be balance threatening, but non the less are concerning.

Sitting and resting modes at home are fine and I feel great. Blood pressure readings indicate 115/68 normally with lows of 100/65. Resting pulse is approx 72.   Apple Watch indicates a normal heart beat range of 78 to 110 on my walks, also generally 70 to 85 resting with the odd plot at 40.

I am due for a review on Dec 16, clinic is 2 hour drive from my residence.  I am wondering if this is just part of the recover process or if the pacemaker needs rate response turned on or off depending where it is currently set.

any comments are greatly appreciated 

4 Comments

Dizziness

by Gone Surfing - 2024-11-07 16:43:58

Hi,,, Also new to the gouop having my implant two weeks ago. I'm experiencing the same issues with dizziness and wonder if it's just accepted post implant as others have also reported this issue. Did they prescribe beta-blockers to you as this could also be a cause. Either way I hope the dizziness passes for you and you can return to being active. Cheers

Dizziness

by JRH009 - 2024-11-07 18:59:47

No meds of any kind prescribed, nor am I on any other medication. Agree, hope it is just a typical post op reaction 

Hi and welcome

by Lavender - 2024-11-07 19:24:22

Be sure to drink enough water. We are told we need more hydration post implant. Since it's a while until your post op check, I would call your cardiac office and speak to a nurse to report when lightheadedness has happened and under what circumstances. 
I felt a bit lightheaded only twice post surgery. My pacemaker is over three years old. The first time I was outdoors and it was hot. I had been drinking a lot of water and hadn't eaten. The water depleted the sodium in my blood. My cardiac nurse told me to eat pretzels if woozy. I tend to need more salt. You might be on salt restriction so it's important to know. 
I am not on any medication.

Another time I was woozy was due to dehydration and not drinking enough water. 🙄

Here in America we are usually checked at one week to check the surgery site. We are then checked a month later to adjust the pacemaker settings. 

Dizziness

by JRH009 - 2024-11-08 11:33:46

I am a relatively heavy coffee drinker in the morning, 4 cups or so. Perhaps that's contributing to some dehydration.  I'll try drinking some water before walking to see if that helps any

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