Hi.

Just 2 quick questions....

1) Safety Mode....my Medtronic Rep told me that it will be at 65 beats per minute when that day arrives. Some others on the site say 60 beats per minute. Could it be that the brand determines the safety mode speed?

2) Pacemakers being turned OFF. I was told that a pacemaker cannot be turned completely off. I was told that they can lower it to 30 beats per minute as that is the lowest setting (on mine) and that they turn it down to 30 at my pacemaker interrogations only to find out my instrinsic rate.

Is this the same information most of you have been given?

Just curious.

Pookie

 

 

Is there ANYONE out there in pacemaker land who has their pacemaker set at 65???????????????

I need to know as I was told I cannot have that particular setting.

thanks
Pookie

 

No, I was told that the setting cannot be at 65 because that is the rate the pm uses when it goes into safe mode. I wanted mine set at 65 too.

 

Hope this helps although I may not answer your questions:

I'm set at 60 for Lower Rate under "Rates" on my printout, 140 max, 55 when sleeping.
Medtronic Adapta.
#1 Under "Modes" on my 8 page (4x6in pages) computer printout I got last Nov 11 there is no "Safety Mode" listed so I don't know the answer.
These are my settings under Modes"
Mode = DDDR
Mode Switch= On
Detection Rate = 175 bpm
Detection Duration = No Delay
Blanked Flutter Search = On

#2 Probably don't ever want a switch onboard the pm that puts it in off condition. Can you imagine using the magnet for phone checks and turning yourself off? (there's a joke there but I won't go there right now)
Or walking through the airport and it goes to "off"?
Etc., etc.

Point to be made: Would be really good to understand what all the things are on the printout so I could then know what it would do for various settings.

Suggestion: Is there a place here on the pm club where all these settings and numbers used to set the pm might be located? Will have to look around a bit when I get more time.

Hope all is well in Pookie Land

Gary

 

Just read posting of MSPACER
Safe mode must be when the battery gets close to "end of life" (of the pacer, not us).
If that is so, what's to prevent having a setting of, say 64 or 63, or maybe 66? I wonder. I don't know this.
Gary

 

I am a bit perplexed at how little I do know in regards to the computer in my chest and what all the settings mean on the printouts I hope we all get before we leave!!
Gotta get up to speed on these things in order to know when things are wrong and know how to get them changed to better settings.
It is (again) time to learn. Shouldn't we all know these things? Why don't they make it a point to educate us on all the settings on the printouts? There needs to be a revolution by the pacing nation!!! Rise up! We must defend ourselves!!! ;)
(First meeting of the "Printout Revolt" will be down at Chappie's Bar (no grill), one of THE finest and smallest and oldest bars on Florida Avenue in Hemet. GoogleEarth map it for your particular directions)

 

I have DPM (demand pace maker). It turns on at 30 with a safety turn on at hundred something for 1 minute.

I hope the only time your PM turns off is when the battery dies!!!!

Awesome
Peace Out!

 

I asked when the EP, the pacer tech, and the Medtronic Rep was in the room why can't I have my pacer set at 67.

the answer I got was: during the interrogation the tech can set the lower rate at ANY number but when she goes to choose the rate you walk out the door with, it only goes in increments of 5. EXCEPT 65 which is for Safety Mode (when your pacer is nearing the end of it's battery life).

It just doesn't make sense to me that something SO sophisticated cannot give me or allow me the rate I may need.

When I get back in the clinic, I'm going to drill them again on this!!!!!!!!!!!! I want and need to be educated on this.

Pookie

Pookie

 

So why not get set at 70? Or opt for 60. That's pretty close to your requested 67. It does seem, though, that since 65 is "taken" that the pacer people should have made an allowance for another number close to 65 just in case someone actually needed/wanted it.
I think that if there were, say, 100 ways to adjust a pacer that most doctors rarely learn how to do more than 60 or so adjustments.....if they say nothing then we are left with just guessing that they know everything. Like the old saying goes: It is better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you know nothing than to open it and prove it...
Gary

 

When I received my Guidant pacemaker with Meditronic leads (2) in 2007 the lower setting was at 60 BPM(beats per minute).

Over the last year, I have improved from using the pm 100% of the time in the lower chamber(third degree heart block), to 4% in the bottom and 0% in the top.

My last interrogation was in January '10 and my doctor had approved the tech to set my lower setting at 55 and to turn on the sleep mode, so that my heart rate can naturally drop while I'm in deep sleep.

I can only speak for my type of pm....but, for a tech to say that pm's cannot be set at a certain number is bull.

A pacemaker is there to do two things....to sense your heart beats and to pace you if you need it.

That's why at the interrogation....the tech will tell you how much time you spent being paced and how much time you spent being sensed.

Some techs are great with answering questions...however, I haven't found one yet who will give you the answers without the questions :-).

So, ya'll are correct, we need to educate ourselves about our little friend and the best way to do this is to look through the past posts here on this board, and also to go to your manufacturer's website and download the user manual for your particular device.

I did, and it made a world of difference.

Best of Luck to ya'll!