There is a recall on some difibulator leads that Medtronic used.
They Fracture and can cause shocks or not shock when needed.
My Cardio. Doc has stated I need to have the lead removed and replaced with a new one.
I have asked that the Battery be replaced at this time as they are going to have me opened up anyway.
I have read alot about the procedure and there is posibility of problems but have found very few listed anywhere.
I will be having this done on July 29, 2008. They are thinking of doing another procedure that will fix my AFIB, this would be to go through my grion and use a laser to bun the node that gives signals between the upper chamber and the lower one.
Then the PM will control the heart rate for ...

 

Thank you to all for previous responses to my posts of "replacement battery, and Dr. reaction. I was happy to find this site as I was thinking that perhaps these things were in my mind...however, I know how my body feels is something is askew.

 

I had my consultation after months of not getting answers.
The original surgeon did in fact state that the pacemaker was moving and that there were leads felt through the skin.
He stated he would move the pacemaker/and or replace with a smaller one, rebuild the pocket and place the leads under the pacemaker.
He, of course, gave me the negatives to the procedure.
As I had the replacement done in Feb. 2008, I would be doing this all over again and then some. He did say that the current situation would not affect the functionality of the current pacemaker. However, when I asked further questions about skin erosion from visible leads, more movement and more pain, he stated that would be something that would be monitored.<...

 

I have a Guident 2 lead PM, implated in October 2007. Everything had been going very well, until a month ago when I started getting a slight fluttery feeling in my chest with an irregular heart rate. I went to the PM clinic to have it interogated. They told me that nothing was in the event recorder, but that I had over 1200 PACs since my last interogation. They called an EP in to look at the readings, he and the Guident tech were talking, saying something about the impedence being high on one of the leads, when the EP turns to me and asks "Did anyone ever tell you that on of you leads is not working?" I said no, no one ever had, in fact I had been told at my last interogation that I was pacing 100% on the lower lead and 2% on the upper...

 

I nearly fell out of my chair here in the UK this morning as I spotted an article about the worlds oldest pacemaker which is still keeping Lesley Iles in the land of the living. It has been pacing her heart for 25 years, yes 25 years already and is still doing its job. They dont make them like that any more. Shame.
She is 51 years old and plans to take part in this years Southend Bike ride. She is a history teacher with a history none the less. I do know of a neighbour whose pacemaker lasted 15 years and was replaced when it had 3 years battery life left. His new one will only last 7-10 years at the most. Can anyone beat 25 years? Cheers pete

 

I finally have an appt. next Thursday to see my original surgeon.
I do not care if he thinks these issues are in my"head". I know they are real and my body does not feel right. I maintained this after the surgery in February. Even after 4 visits, I felt dismissed.
Hopefully, this surgeon will listen as I don't feel there should be pain involved after 6 months.In addition, does anyone else feel the lead aside from the pacemaker. It feels like a thick cord getting longer by the month.
Thank you for the responses. It's good to know other people understand.

 

Pacemaker replacement done in February. Since then I have been vocal to the nurse practitioner, cardiologist, surgeon... that something is not right. The pacemaker seems to fall to near my armpit when I sleep on left side. In addition, I feel a thick lead, wire, etc. to the right of the pacemaker and I have constant "sticking pain"I was told by the surgeon that it could be lead, scar tissue,etc. He never gave me an answer nor did he look me in the eyes for a total of 5 min. consultation.
He was not the original surgeon. I had an appt with the first surgeon who implanted the first pacemaker but he canceled due to surgery. This has been an ongoing nightmare.My last interrogation was fine and the pacemaker was working. However, the perso...

 

My little girl is 4 yrs old she has had her pacemaker since she was 18 mo. She is 100% dependent. She has to have a battery change on July 9th and I am very scarried. i know it not just a battery change i know the change the whole machine. But if anyone can tell what to expect so i can help her that would be great. Any advice please.
thank You
worried mom

 

my daughter has had her pace mker sence she was 11yrs old an now she is 15years old an we went to see the dr yesterday an they said she used it way to much.... more then they thought !omg!!.... she used about 75% of the battries they said that wasnt good but she has to see a specil dr. now on monday an i thinik she are ganna have to change it or do something else bevause it didnt last very long i am so scarried for my daughter.... does anyone no why the pacer didnt last so long ,do you think it because she is so young an it will not last as long for adults i have no idea but it really freaks me out ok thanks for being here it kinda helps to talk about it sometimes...bye for now

 

i assumed that the leads would go from PM basically straight into the heart but i had a peek at my x-ray which was recently done because, believe it or not they may have placed the lead in the wrong spot-i swear i'll give them a good......- anyway the leads went from the PM far over into my right chest cavity and looped back to the heart(i have about 2 feet of wire in there) Is this the way its supposed to be?
thanks

 

on wensday i take my little girl to get her pacemaker checked out see if we ave to have it changed its been 5 yrs battries are kinda getten low im scarried for her an she is only 15 oh pray for us

 

My 22 month old son, Max, got his new generator and leads last week plus they repaired a hernia caused by the first implant at 1 day old. His new pacer is an Adapta DR model (epicardial/abdominal) and I am excited to read about it's stated ability to reduce the impact of long term pacing on the ventrical. He also got 35 cm leads to replace his 15 cm leads that had stretched too short from growth. He is 100% dependant. He is doing very well and though clingy and uncomfortable, he is well managed with just small doses of motrin and tylenol. He is playing more, eating better, and more independent each day.

I would love to hear from people with an Adapta pacer - any issues, comments, etc. Also, people who have received pacer...

 

Go to http://www.fda.gov/search.html, this is the FDA Home Site. In the search box type687423. This is an adverse event report written by an honest tech.Some great info here.
Best of luck to everyone
papaknight

 

There has been a lot of discussion about how easy it is to pull a lead loose by raising an arm too high. Today I had a chest X Ray which happened to show the leads clearly. Guess what? The leads have a complete loop in them before attaching to the heart wall. There is virtually no way I could have raised my arm enough to use up all this slack in the leads. I don't know if this is standard procedure for all cardiologists/surgeons or not.

frank

 

Hi!
Can you tell when the battery gets close to end of life, or is it something that is found in clinic?
My last check was Jan 08 I was told I had approx 1yr of battery life left, although I have been feeling lightheaded, lathargic and have felt some unusual heart beats for approx 1 week. Saying all that I am also starting to recovering from a cough that I've had since feb. Could the way I have felt for the last week be been down to my pacemaker changing modes or post illness?

Thanks for your help
sharron

 

My pacemaker is a St Judes dual chamber that was put in 5 and 1/2 years ago. About 18 months ago during a routine check I was told that there is a breach in the insulation in the pacerwire in my right ventricle causing it to be impaired. Since that time I have continued to have increasing impairment in the wire and it is being watched closely. The hope, since I pace minimally in my ventricle and most of the time I am approx 90% paced in my atrium, is that they can wait and change my wire when my battery requires changing which is estimated to be approx. 18 months to 2 years from now.
I have had discussions with my EP about removing the wire vs. putting a second wire in my rt. ventricle along side the failing wire and use that to pace...

 

I'm not normally a joiner, but I am a little desperate (okay, maybe more than a little) - I got my pacemaker on April 15th and was told the battery life is 10 - 12 years - I went to my first check on May 8th and the readout says - 4.50-6.25 years - I find this disconcerting at best - how can I conserve on the battery? I am 47 years old and freaked out by the quick drain of the battery - I am worried what it's going to say in a couple of weeks when I return to the doctor - any advice will be appreciated - Help!!!

 

Well this has been a day!!!!! Mom calls me this afternoon to let me know they are GOING TO PUT IN DADS NEW PACEMAKER, well folks let me tell you, its about TIME! Earlier today mom calls me from hospital and said that dad had lung infection, well I thought great 1 step forward 2 steps back it seems . All I could think about is daddy getting really tired , losing weight more and more and I was reallly scared that he was just going to give up. It seem when things began to look-up something else brought it down faster and faster each time. So i got on the phone to our family DR and told him whats all going on and If he would call the heart dr, well he did and all of a sudden the heart dr visit mom and dad late this afternoon to tell them...

 

hi everyone
can anyone tell me how i can get the current state/life of my battery. i have a st judes entity pacemaker that was implanted five and a half years ago. at present i am waiting to have the pm repositioned due to it moving and causing severe pain and limited movement. i am having the surgery at a different hospital to where i have my pacemaker checks. the consultant doing the surgery asked me to get a pm check and find out how long the battery life is left i.e. three months or two years for example as this would determine when he did the surgery. however the pm technition at my local hospital has told me she cant tell me the battery status only that i havent used it much. the cardiologist at my local hospital said the pm te...

 

Ther is more technical information on the principle of Bio-Tharmal batteries . If you type in google the following.
geocities thermoelectric modules
and secondly ,also previously mentioned
Bio-Thermal Battery for ICDs
Also if ElectricFrank reads this can you send me an email as I wish to send you a file. Sorry frank cant find your email address. Cheers Peter