"Normal" Pacing Time Percentages

Hi all,

Just came across this site and thought I would post a question for my father. My dad just had a pacemaker placed in him sometime mid-December 2007. He just came back from his first check-up last week. He is very concerned because he learned that he is pacing at 46%. Is this generally OK, or should he be alarmed?

Thanks,
Rebecca

4 Comments

there is no "normal"

by gevans - 2008-01-22 08:01:38

Hi, and welcome to this awesome site. I hope your father has an opportunity to chime in also.

Regarding your concern, there are many of us here that are 100% paced and I know of one person that has reported a low of 2%. It all depends on the individual's needs - but bottom line, we're all getting a new lease on life. You will occassionally find someone with a problem or two (in fact, that is the main reason we are here for each other) but the great consensus would rather have a pacemaker...than the alternative.

You can also search for previous posts on this or related topics by using the "search" tab in the upper right hand corner. Virtually any topic, question, or concern has been discussed over the years.

Enjoy the site (and life),

Gary

Pacing Percentages

by SMITTY - 2008-01-22 09:01:03

Hello Rebecca,

Welcome to the Pacemaker Club. I hope you and your father find it as helpful as many of us have.

To answer you fathersÂ’ question "Is this generally OK" my answer is yes. Like Gary said, we see reports here of people pacing a very low number all the way up to 100%. The only important thing is that it is pacing enough to give your father a stable heart rhythm. That pacemaker is made to go 100% for its entire life so we should never worry about the percent they throw out to us during a checkup. In fact I think one of the greatest disservices done to pacemaker recipients is throw out percent pacing number without any further explanation.

Let's take me for example. I've had a pacemaker for about t8 years. During that time mine has paced from "zero" percent all the way to 100%. This is because my low setting is 70 beats per minute to a high setting of 110 BPM. When I'm sitting and doing nothing or when I'm asleep, my normal heart rate is in the 50 to 60 BPM range. Since my pacemaker has a low set point of it will start helping heart anytime my heart rate drops below 70 and keep it at that rate as long as necessary. On the other hand, if I'm doing something that has my natural heart rate above 70, my pacemaker just sits there watching things and is ready to step in to help maintain a steady rhythm in the event it is necessary. As you can see on any given day my pacing percentage can range from 100% (if I'm sitting on my rump and doing nothing and my heart rate tries to drop below 70 BPM ) all the way down to zero when I'm trying to play ball with the great grandkids.

Since, assuming your father has an on demand pacemaker, the percent pacing will depend on his activity. So I would suggest that the next time a pacing percentage is thrown at your father, he should ask for a full explanation.

As you father goes along, whenever he has a question about his pacemaker let us have it. We have lots of knowledge people here and I'm sure you can get a valid answer.

I wish you father the best,

Smitty

hi

by randrews - 2008-01-22 11:01:17

the above comments about covers it. Congratulations on finding this site. I'm 48 with a pm for the last 10 months. I'm pacing 70% of the time. That seemed high to me also but I still have about 6 -7 years left on my pm and it lets me sleep so much better and I can still run and exercise(I took my pm out for a run in 8 degree weather and it did great).
I hope you all are doing fine,
Rusty

Good for comparison over time

by sboissonnas - 2008-01-23 10:01:32

Hi Rebecca,

I struggled trying to understand what the pacing percentage number really told me too, until I realized that it's much more valuable when compared with past readings. It's kind of like getting on a scale - it's one thing to know your weight right this minute, and another to keep track of your weight over time.

That's what the pacing percentage is useful for. If your dad is regularly clocking in at 46% for a few years and then suddenly goes up (or drops) significantly, then it's apparent that *something* changed and the doctor can make new treatment recommendations accordingly.

(Me, I'm a 2% pacer, but they just upped my beta blockers and I think it's lowered my heart rate down below my pacemaker threshhold of 60 bpm. So I won't be too surprised if my 2% has jumped a lot higher next time I go in, because I'll know why it happened.)

Hope this helps!
Stephanie

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