Hi. I'm new here; just had my pacemaker implanted on 5/3/2010. I had found this website and it brought me a lot of comfort and a feeling of connection with others who have been through what I have been through. Thank you for that! Until a short time ago, I was a very healthy, very active 54-year old woman. All of a sudden I am diagnosed with an electrical heart block! It actually turned into a complete heart block one day before my scheduled pacemaker implant! I'm healing well, but still experience breathlessness coming up steps and walking after being sedentary for awhile. Does anyone else experience this? Will it get better? I was dismayed to learn at a checkup that I am still in a-fib. I guess I just thought the pacemaker would fix everything. Also, is anxiety and the "blues" a common thing after surgery?

 

 

Welcome to our board!

Anxiety and blues are perfectly normal! The emotional healing can be harder on some than the physical. As you start to feel better, those feelings should go away on their own.

Know that an electrical block is completely unrelated to arterial blocks, what we usually think of when we hear "blockage". Electrical blocks have nothing to do with how fit and healthy we are, it's just an electrical short circuit and our hearts are generally still healthy. I was born with mine. It can come as a result of illness, the side effects of medication, or sometimes it just happens and we never know why. But know that you could not have done anything to prevent it and there's no reason to think you won't be healthy and active again as soon as you get over this little hump! In the last week, I've been on the elliptical and done weights at the gym two mornings, swam laps two mornings, 2 mile walks with the dogs every day the weather permitted, this morning I rollerbladed 4 miles, and Saturday I'm leaving for a hiking vacation. My heart block doesn't keep me from doing anything I want to do! (no that's not a normal week of workouts! I'm not a maniac, I'm getting ready for the hiking)

A pacemaker can't do anything about afib. It can add beats only, so it will speed up a slow hr or smooth out one that's irregular. When the heart goes fast on its own, the pm can only sit back and watch. If you have a block, they can program it so that you don't feel the effects of the afib so much, but the afib is still there.

The breathlessness on the stairs could be that you need your settings adjusted, it could be the meds for the afib, it could be just your body recovering. I'd mention it to your dr.

Good luck!! If you have questions or just want to talk through the blues, we're here. I got my first pm in 1993 and haven't slowed down since. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise.

 

else,I'd google the American with Disability Act & the Family Medical Leave Program to be prepared with your rights. HR should help yopu also.

Good luck,

Janet

 

embarassed, Janet

 

I was diagnosed with complete heart block 26 years ago. I still feel out of breath when I climb a lot of stairs or even going up hil. It doesn't help that I live in Colorado either. I just take my time when I get that way. It goes away when I do it a lot. Welcome to the club. It is a lot of people with the same problems that you have. Ask any questions that you have. We are here to help.

Becky

 

Do you know what your upper limit is? They often set it below where we need it to be, which can cause what you're feeling. Can't hurt to ask! If they put you on a treadmill, they should be able to easily see if your atrial rate is getting higher than the pm is set to pace. I had mine turned up over the years from the original 120 to 165.

 

Wow! Thank you, everyone. I feel better knowing that I will get to be active again. I've really had a rough time of it lately with my emotions melting down. My left shoulder seems to have frozen up from the weeks of inactivity. Once I start back into my exercise routine, I hope that will all straighten out. Becky, I don't know what my upper limit is or any such thing. You all sound so knowledgeable and I don't know any of this technical stuff. When I mentioned the breathlessness to my Dr., he said the settings are a guess, at first. I think I'll just keep riding my bike, taking my walks and bringing up the laundry and see if it improves. If not, I'll definitely mention it at my 6-month checkup and hopefully he will order the settings changed. Thanks again, everyone, for being so kind and taking the time to post replies to me. Your info & encouragement mean more than you could ever know.

 

If you have questions about the terminology we use, please don't be shy about asking!! We all were newbies once.

With heart block, our sinus node- our natural pacemaker- works just fine and raises/lowers our hr as needed with activity. The signal always or sometimes does not get through to the ventricles, that's the block and why we have a low hr without the pm. The pm watches every time the atria beats and gives the ventricles a chance to beat. If it doesn't, it generates a signal and causes the beat. The pm will only be able to do this as fast as it's programmed to go- the upper limit. They often start it around 120 or 130, which is not enough for someone active and otherwise healthy. Every time your atrial rate gets higher than your upper limit, you will feel tired and short of breath, and it's not really good for you because your body wants more oxygen than it's getting.

I would not wait 6 months. It's a quick and easy thing to fix and they expect to do tweaks because, as your dr said, the initial settings are just a guess. Getting out and walking- and feeling good doing it!- will help you mentally get back to normal faster. No reason to live with feeling bad for six months!