Longevity Pacer

I had an av node ablation in Feb. 2006 and have a two lead Biotronic pacer that paces in my atrium at about 17% and 100% in the ventricle. which means that I am 100% dependent on this little sucker and they tell me there is a five year warranty on it. I am wondering how long it can be expected to last at 100% pacing. I believe it is set at 75 to 135 and I have a high heartrate when I am trying to relax or go to sleep. I can feel it in my heartarea and also in my back, It seems to be beating too hard for I dont think you should be aware of your own heartbeat constantly. Anybody care to enlighten me on any of these things? Thanks DD

3 Comments

me, too

by VIOLIN - 2007-12-17 11:12:05

DD,
I have the exact same thing-- av node ablation and full dependancy on that little sucker!...i have a dual lead medtronic and 100% dependancy on it. like you, i have a very fast resting heart rate and it made me symptomatic to the point that i have to take cardizem to feel more normal. i still beat pretty fast(faster than before the PM when i wasn't in an abnormal rhythm, that is.) I am starting to get less short of breath and learning to live "differently." It feels kind of good to have someone in the same boat to share with.
i do not know if we will need a battery change quicker than some of our buddies since we use the PM all the time--i would think ours would wear down over less time.
thank you for sharing.



Violin

High resting HR

by ElectricFrank - 2007-12-18 01:12:41

If you are only pacing 17% of the time in the atrium then it sounds like you have pretty good intrinsic sinus pacing. Likely the only reason you are atrial pacing at all is the 75 lower limit. During sleep your natural HR likely drops below 75 and then the atrial pacing kicks in to keep you at 75. If your only need is av pacing then you may not even need Rate Response turned on. I had somewhat the same problem and after a bit of a battle with the cardiologist I had rate response turned off and the lower atrial rate set to 55 as a backup in case my natural sinus node acted up. I now show less than 1% atrial pacing, but since I have an av block I show 100% ventricle pacing. I also had my upper limit raised to 150 since I am pretty active even at 77yrs.
These changes made life a lot more pleasant. I almost forgot I had a pacer for 2 yrs. until an unrelated problem upset things for a while. I'm getting it all back under control again.
So my settings are:
Rate response:Off
Lower Limit: 55
Upper Limit: 150

Hope this helps

frank

Resting rate

by Suze - 2007-12-18 08:12:14

The EP tried to change my resting rate to 70 and I couldn't stand it. I felt like my heart was pounding and too fast.... I went back the next day and told them this. Now my sleeping, lying down rate is back to 60 and is much more comfortable and calming for me....My sitting rate is 65 and my upper rate is around l40. It works well for me.

Also my rate response mode is on medium. Any higher and I felt like I was going to go into AFib.

The doctor and the techs should work with you so that you are comfortable with the various settings. I've been fortunate that that's been the case for me.

Hang in there.

Suze

Since I'm paced 99% of the time, they told me I would need a replacement a little sooner than those that are paced less. But they know more about the exact time of replacement at least 6-9 months ahead of time. That is kind of reassuring to me.

You know you're wired when...

You forecast electrical storms better than the weather network.

Member Quotes

I have had my pacer since 2005. At first it ruled my life. It took some time to calm down and make the mental adjustment. I had trouble sleeping and I worried a lot about pulling wires. Now I just live my life as I wish.