Dizziness and Numbness

My dad got a pacemaker put in 2 months ago after have severe dizzy spells to the point of almost passing out. He wore a monitor for 48 hours and they discovered his heart was stopping for up to 4 seconds at a time.

After the surgery he felt fine for 3 weeks, but then started to have the episodes again. They last from a couple of minutes up to 10 minutes. During that time he is very dizzy and his right side becomes numb (his tongue, arm and leg). All through the episodes his pulse rate is 60 (the setting where the PM kicks in). As soon as his pulse rate goes above 60 he begins to feel better.

Has anyone else experienced this? We have been back to the Dr. and Emergency a number of times and they can not find anything.

Thank you for you help.
Char

1 Comments

Very close

by boatman50 - 2007-12-27 01:12:16

I had something like that. I suggest your dad see an ep. My ep raised my lower rate to 70. I didn't like that idea but have to say I feel no difference between 60 and 70 bpm but the dizzy spells have gotten less frequent. Also my ep said to stay very hydrated and drink something like gatorade, any sports drink for the electrolytes. I drinl propel, very close to gatorade but with less sugar. All these measures have helped.

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Member Quotes

As for my pacemaker (almost 7 years old) I like to think of it in the terms of the old Timex commercial - takes a licking and keeps on ticking.