Bradycardia causes

Hello fellow PMers,
I have had a PM since Aug. 28,2007. Over night my pulse went to below 30. I am very active and there was no indication of a problem before this incidence. In fact I had run 5.5 km two days before with no difficulties. The doctors immediately said I needed a PM. I spent three days in the intensive station while they monitored my heart. My pulse with medication stayed at around 35 the whole time. The doctors could find no reason for this condition. They had thought it might be a virus or an infection, but neither was found. It was difficult to accept that my up to then healthy heart had a defect. The doctors could only guess that it was caused by a degeneration of the sinus node, but degeneration is not a sudden process. After consulting with a surgeon friend I agreed to the PM.

It seems that most of you had symptoms previous to the PM decision. Does anyone have a similar experience?

Anyway after PM insertion and an adjustment I am doing great. Soon I expect to resume my activities. In particular I play tennis , golf and ski. In golf it seems there is a danger of a lead breaking. Tennis seems less dangerous since the PM is on the opposite side as my active one. In skiing there would seem to be a danger of taking a big fall and breaking the leads. I ski very carefully so should be able to avoid it. I would like to know if anyone knows of such dangers.

I am a 65 year old male living in Germany.

I look forward to the responses.

Pablo

5 Comments

Welcome

by Vicki - 2007-11-06 01:11:29

Hi and Welcome,
Like you I had no symptoms that I was aware of. On July 15th I went to ER feeling lightheaded, trouble breathing and extemely fatigued. Came on all of a sudden. Was at working making copies, walked back to my desk and then these symptoms hit me. Went to ER where I was diagnosed with bradycardia and was in complete heart block. Since I take a beta-blocker for SVT and BB's slow down the heart rate, they thought that might be the culprit. I was admitted and taken off the BB but three days later my heart rate never got above 45 and I was still in heart block. Thus, a pace maker. No idea what the cause was. Five days later went to my EP to have incision checked and was told I was out of heart block and pacer used less than 1% of the time. Two months later, same thing. I go again in another month to see what's what. So, Yes...I had a similar experience such as yourself. Can't help you on the tennis or golf. Good luck. I am 58 years old and thought I was in good health. Found out after all this that I have two leaky valves. Doc said it had nothing to do with the bradycardia.

Vicki

Sudden Onset

by GrandmaD - 2007-11-06 06:11:16

Welcome to the Club!!
I had the same experience as you 5 1/2 years ago.
While at work I just " didn't feel right " I had someone take my pulse, because I felt like maybe that was the problem. It was 30 and stayed there for a long time!!!
I went to the ER trhat evening and was told I was in complete heart block with no real reason being found.I had the PM put in and have since gone back to life as usual for the most part.
D







golf and tennis

by luckyloo - 2007-11-06 08:11:37

i play tennis, golf, ski run plus others. my device is under left collar bone but i do have a 2 handed backhand. i am righthanded.

my lead did fracture which was due to playing tennis. i play in the 3.5-4.0 level...co-ed.

golf seems much more safe than tennis to me. i guess it depends on your technique in both.

make aure youve waited long enough post surgery before you swing so the leads do't get pulled out of the heart prematurely.

have fun!
luckyloo

Hello!

by The Bunny - 2007-11-07 01:11:50

You are going to really like this site...it's really nice to read about fellow PM folks share their experiences!

I received my pacemaker at 36 yrs old., in June 1999. About a year before I was having migraines. In Feb. 99 I had a wisdom tooth come in, the dentist pulled it, no problems. In March 99 I had a really bad cold and one night had horrible neck pain. After that, I became very fatigued, light headed, near passing out and out of breath. I kept going to the dr and he told me that I needed to exercise more, just out of shape! I was a gymnast for 8 years and very active. The dr never did an EKG and thought I was just still recovering from my bad cold. I ended up in the ER with Second Degree Heart Block Mobitz II, jumping into Third Degree a couple of times. My heart rate got down to 28 bpm. I asked for a 2nd opinion however they told me to critical and unable to medivac me to Oahu (I live on Kauai). They considered a temporary PM but decided nothing was changing with meds. Mine was a more gradual down slope but still unexplainable. One dr. told me I was probably born with it. One dr. told me the bacteria from my wisdom tooth might have gotten into my bloodstream and damaged my heart. I was on Imitrex for the migraines so one even thought the medication did the damage...I guess I will never know...just grateful I have a fix. After having the PM I was using it 99% of the time, now, 8 years later, down to 3%! Progress!

As far as being active, my dr told me I could do anything! So I do everything! I've skiied, even having a bad fall...face/chest plant, flipping over onto my back--ouch! Physical therapy is amazing! I've rode ATV's, ziplined, horseback riding, golf, tennis, biking, surfing, body surfing, jogging and even had a baby! I told my dr. I want to be the first to have my pacemaker shut off because I don't need it--he looks at me like I'm crazy! Hey why not, it came on quickly, why couldn't the problem disappear quickly? So many things in life are unexplainable!

I wish you the best and it sounds like you are getting back to your normal life--enjoy it to the fullest! Sounds like you are a marathoner...my dr. told me that very fit, active people can have slow heart rates such as, 40-45 bpm. My son has a slow beat and I worry about him--but he's very active surfing and working construction. I'll keep my eye on him for sure! Unfortunately in your case, below 30 not so good. Enjoy your extra charge!
Aloha, The Bunny

Sudden onset of bradycardia

by ElectricFrank - 2007-11-09 05:11:11

I had a similar problem in 2004. I just wasn't feeling very good and decided to check my BP and HR. My HR was 40BPM and didn't respond to exercise. I also was in good shape and did a lot of walking. This is why such a low HR didn't cause light headedness for me. In fact the night before the pacer was implanted my HR in the hospital was down to 25 several times. It kept setting off the monitor and waking me up. I could still get out of bed and use the restroom with out passing out.
The problem was an A/V block which meant my atrium was beating just fine at an appropriate speed, but my ventricles weren't getting the message. The pacemaker in DDD mode senses an atrial contraction and then stimulates the ventricle. Now all is well and I am back to full activity.
As for the cause it is hard to tell for sure. I suspect a virus, but the cardiologist seemed to like the idea that I had massive coronary artery disease simple based on my chlorestoral levels. That seems a bit hard to believe when I immediately was able to get back to intensive exercise including hiking at high altitude.
One suggestion: make it a practice to ask for a copy of the printouts that are generated when you have a checkup. It will tell the settings of your pacer and how it is functioning between checkups. Several of us here can often make suggestions if we have this information.
good luck with your new friend.

You know you're wired when...

You have an excuse for being a couch potato.

Member Quotes

In fact after the final "tweaks" of my pacemaker programming at the one year check up it is working so well that I forget I have it.