heart pain

Hi

My 13 year old daughter had a pacemaker inserted two months ago and has recently experienced two short instances of stabbing pains around her heart. A week before this she experienced breathlessness and was dizzy at schhol - the weather was very hot at the time. The GP and hospital x- rayed her and did an ECG and said that the pacemaker was working fine andit was most likely to be casued by losing a breath and then getting an anxiety attack. The sharp pains in the heart area are worrying. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

thank you

6 Comments

Yes

by wrholder - 2009-06-17 08:06:10

I experienced the same symptoms after my surgery as well, they go away with time.

Not sure

by sputnick - 2009-06-17 11:06:20

Do you mean pains round the pm site or in the chest generally? I have sharp stinging pains and soreness round the site but that is due to too much sudden activity too soon after pm implant. Mine is wearing off but only slowly. I think it is bcause of damage to nerves and surroundind tissue and muscle (so I have been told) Although it can be a very anxious time, especially for someone so young. I hope she feels much better soon.

xrays

by Tracey_E - 2009-06-17 12:06:56

The shooting pains could easily just be healing. Did a cardiologist/EP look at the xrays or just the GP? He'd be more qualified to say if the leads are placed where they're supposed to be and decide if it's nothing.

If her heart is trying to go faster than the pm, that could make her sob and dizzy. Her settings may need to be adjusted. Just because it's working properly doesn't mean the settings are ideal for her and letting her feel her best. They're usually fairly conservative with the upper limits because most pm's are given to older, sedentary patients so it may need to be raised to accommodate her activity.

pain?

by brokenheart - 2009-06-18 03:06:46

Hi...Im not sure what can be the cause of the pain. For me, I had a lot of pain in the beginning and the doctor said that i had to give it time to heal. My pacer was put under my muscle so it did hurt for a while when it was healing. Also, like othesr have suggested...it could also be caused by nerve damage which has been the case for me. However, make sure you talk to the cardiologist and find out for sure that the leads did not move or get out of place. I also had this happen to me and was not aware of it for a long time.( An x-ray showed that my leads were slightly facing another direction.) Hope this helps. God bless you and your daughter.

Early days

by Hot Heart - 2009-06-18 05:06:10

Hi there, we all get random pains all over our bodies that we never even really think about, like my thumb is hurting now! lol. But so soon after getting a pm i think we are so in tune with our hearts and worrying about everything that we notice it a lot more. It could be something as simple as heartburn or perhaps just stretching our wires a wee bit too much. If it carries on take her back, insist on more tests, but it really could be anxiety. It is scarey at first.

HH

ohhhhhhhhhhh

by Hot Heart - 2009-06-18 05:06:20

hi again afib could make her dizzy, ask the doc about this.

HH

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