6 weeks ago I was implanted with a dual lead pacemaker. Since that time I have felt irritation in my upper chest and lower windpipe. Each time the device is tested and paced I get a very uncomfortable sensation in the above mentioned areas. An ENT specialist examined my throat and found nothing wrong with it. My cardiac specialist has never experienced this situation. He is sending me to an electrophysiologist in a few weeks. By the end of the day my upper chest and lower windpipe are quite irritated. Does anyone have an idea of what might be going on? Has anyone experienced anything similar?
Needless to say, I am quite frustrated. It took until now for anyone to admit that my problem is for real.

 

 

First - welcome to the club.

The first thing that popped in my head was - are you now on any medications since having your pacemaker?

I ask this because several weeks after my implant I developed the same issues and the culprit was one of my meds.

Seeing an EP is always a good move. If you don't get anywhere, ask your family doctor to refer you to a Gastroentologist, it might be that you now have GERD.

Just a thought.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Take care,
Pookie

 

Thanks for the quick feedback. Unfortunately the doctor did not subscribe any new meds after my implant. My primary care physician looked at the possibility of acid refux in the initial diagnosis. That turned out to be a dead end. ((I presume GERD is just that?) What meds. caused your issue? Thanks Pookie!
Al

 

You could have a defective lead or one that has come out of your heart. The pacemaker detects a problem and shifts to what is called unipolar mode. Normally the leads are coaxial (like audio cable) where the pacing current goes through a center conductor to the heart electrode and returns on the outer shield. Sometime the shield can be damaged and leak body fluids into it. In the case the pacer shifts to the unipolar mode which has the current return to the pacer through the body. If a muscle or other sensitive area is in the pathway back to the pacer it can be stimulated by the pacing current. The most common symptom is a twitching muscle, but a windpipe could just as well be affected. This would account for it becoming worse during office checks because they turn the voltage up higher during part of the test.

frank