Pacemaker Induced Tachycardia

I had my third pm check-up a couple of days ago. Still pacing 99% ventrically, but Atrially down from 4.5% to 3%. Tecnician said everything really good but mentioned that there had been episodes of Pacemaker Induced Tachycardia and she could make an adjustment to the settings to counteract that. I don't need to have another check for 12 months so feeling really good about that, but can someome explain what P.I.T. is in (VERY)! simple language.
Also said up on screen that battery life left btween 5 and 7 years, I have an XL DR pm in which was forecast to last 10+ years and I have only had it in 14 months. Does this sound right? Is it beacuse I am pacing a lot?
Thanks Jan

1 Comments

Pacemaker-Mediated Tachycardia

by pacemaker writer - 2010-03-27 07:03:00

Hi,
I think the more common term is "pacemaker-mediated tachycardia" or PMT. A tachycardia is a too-fast heart rhythm. Most of the time, people get tachycardia because their heart just naturally beats too fast.

In PMT, the pacemaker contributes to the too-fast rhythm.

Not everybody is susceptible to PMT (that is, some people have the kind of heart that won't get this condition) and in people who can get PMTs, a couple of things have to happen to set it off. Fortunately, a pacemaker tech can program your device to prevent PMTs. Many pacemakers even have built-in algorithms or programming set-ups for people who are prone to PMTs.

Since you are probably going to ask, "Why am I prone to PMT and other people don't get it?" The prerequisite is something called "retrograde conduction." This means that at least one of your heart's electrical pathways will conduct backard as well as forward. Not everybody has this. To get a PMT you need a certain kind of conduction pathway with retrograde condution.

The good news is that PMT, once detected, can usually be handled by making some programming tweaks to the pacemaker. These adjustments are pretty individualized so the fact that your tech caught this and adjusted for it should mean you'll have smooth sailing.

Hope this helps.

Pacemaker Writer

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