Hi, I had a pacemaker (Guidant) placed in 06-09 with Medtronic upper and lower lead wires. Right away I felt worse then before. The reason for the pacemaker is that I was unable to maintain a resting hr over 45 and was unable to get any higher then 95 during a stress test. Basically I felt terrible most of the time. After the pacemaker was in I felt like I was having a heart attack everytime I walked to the kitchen. My resting hr was set at 54. After complaining for 5 weeks my dr finally checked and found my lower chamber lead was bad. It was pacing me completly wrong. Back to the hospital, they replaced the lead and I do feel much better. My problem is my hugh medical bills from now 2 procedures, my hugh scar which they warned me about because they had to go in again. Just was wondering if anyone else had these issues. Thanks so much!

 

 

Welcome to the group. Apparently the welcoming committee is off on Holiday this week, so I apologize for the delay in responding. Normally they are very prompt in responding to posts and keep me locked up, I'm not allowed to reply.

While unusual, the non-functional lead on implant is not unheard of, and if you look at posts here you'll see a number of comments in that regard. It's stressful to get an implant and to have a problem out of the starting gate makes it more so, you have our sympathy. I'm delighted that things are improving since the correction.

I would suggest you work with the Hospital and Doctor on the second surgery. That was a warranty issue and they should absorb the cost of the second procedure. I assure you that insurance companies refuse to pay twice for the same procedure. If they aren't cooperative you might want to consult a lawyer.

Again welcome to the club and glad you're doing better

Regards,
2nd string welcoming committee