I'm 43 years old and I'm scheduled to have a biventricular pacemaker implanted in about a month. At the time, my ejection/fraction is a mere 15-20% and I have great fatigue. On top of that, I have complex congenital heart disease. with transposition in the great arteries.. There appears to be ventricular inversion; however the transposition is anatomically corrected.

I understand my condition is rare, and everyone's experience is different. However, I guess what I'm asking is to what degree has your ejection/fraction percentage been effected? Has anybody's jumped up to the 30% level after the procedure? Were you able to return to work?

Thanks for any information possible....

James

 

 

A few see no noticeable change, some see unbelievably high change. Most see at least a good improvement. Even two people with the same condition can see drastic differences so the only thing to do is hope for the best and wait. Fingers crossed you're in the amazing category.

 

Hey James,
My EF was around 15% 3.5 years ago and the next morning after getting the PM/ICD with bi ventricular CRT
setup my EF went to around 45 %, Latest check last November was 50 %. I still get fatigued but I work, rock climb, mountain bike etc. I just go slower and rest more often but it beats the alternative. Good Luck. Also about 1/3 of my heart is dead and I am totally pm dependant.
Mike

 

The biventricular pacer can't fix a damaged part of your ventricle, but it can improve the efficiency of your overall heart in some cases. I suspect it would improve the efficiency of most of our hearts, but we are doing fine the way we are. With low EF though it could make quite a difference.

I would also guess that it might take some time of increased exercise for your heart to adapt to the pacer.

I'm only speculating since I don't have low EF (at least I don't think I do..never had it measured).

frank

 

Frank and Tracey E would have made a great Cardio team........
I was 44 and worked commercial construction everyday, so I was definitely in "I thought great shape", then started having chest pains, then I started gettting fatigued alot quicker than normal...
Before my implant 3 years ago I had less than 30% EF, and went back to work in construction for 2 more years and my EF gotten worse .......Which is one of the reasons I've been ordered not to work at all.....so yes it is possible to be implanted and medicated, exercise, and your EF still drop....good luck to ya........

 

Can I ask you guys that have had the biventricular pacemaker whether or not you were on medications beforehand?

 

In october 2009 I had a LVEF of 22% as a result of serious cardiomyopathy. CRT-D implanted on my birthday...November 5th, 2009. EF improved to 35% after 1 month and 45% within 8 months. For me it was like a miracle from the moment I woke up from the operation. Good luck.