What do these settings mean?

The lower range of my PM is 60 and the upper limit is set at 120. Another note I made it that the PM paces at 70%.

What do these things mean?

Thank you so much.

John

6 Comments

your settings

by Pookie - 2010-02-19 05:02:42

Hi John.

The 60 means your heart cannot beat below 60 beats per minute.

The upper limit of 120 will have to be explained by someone else cause I never can explain it to myself! But if you read thru some of the older posts, you will find the answer. Tracey or Smitty are really good at explaining the limits.

You pacer is pacing at 70% means that 70% of the time you are using your pacer. I use mine at around 60%. Sometimes I've been as low as 27%.

I'm positive you will receive a lot of helpful information in the next few days.

Did you not receive a booklet before leaving the hospital?

And you didn't mention why you had to have a pacer or when you got it.

take care,
Pookie

settings

by dwelch - 2010-02-19 06:02:07


Not rambling at all, good information.

Pookie answered the question. The settings can vary based on your condition so knowing why you have a pacer and if it is a single chamber or dual chamber helps to understand and explain those and the many other numbers and terms you will encounter over time.

I have had a pacer half my life and still dont quite get the upper limit thing either, I dont know if the pacer will drive and limit you to that rate, or if it will just let you run the show and stand by and watch. And it depends on single and dual. I have a dual chamber, the upper chamber is like zero percent, I drive it all the time and dont hit my limit or rarely, who knows. I have complete heart block so the lower chambers are driven by the second lead all the time. So what happens when I go over the upper limit, does the lower chamber just stop following and let my lower chambers wander around on their own, out of sync, or are both chambers forced to run at the maximum rate?

From the answers to the times other folks have asked the upper rate question I still dont quite understand.


thank you

by JSF - 2010-02-19 06:02:47

Thank you, Pookie.

I got a PM in August for sinus node dysfunction. I know that my heart rate was typically in the 30 and 40 beat range. I think I am young - 56 - and not overweight.

I only received very general info about the PM and nothing written about the settings. The 60 and 120 has been explained to me; I am certain that I understand the 60 part but not the 120 part.

When I do workout, my heart rate seldom gets above 110, even if I am sweating profusely for past 30 minutes.

I have no clue about the 70% pacing. If it is "on" 70% of the time, does that mean that typically or normally that 70% of the time my heart rate would be below 60 if I did not have the PM?

Actually, my wife is the very sick one in our family so I seldom have the time to wonder about these things for myself.

I don't have a clue when I have the next dr appt (my physician relocated to a different state and I THINK I
have an appt sometime with the new physician). I think I am supposed to use a monitor that I keep in my office to record my heartrate sometime in May. The PM clinic will call me to do that.

A week or so ago I had chest pain lasting about 3 hrs but only a couple of times since. If we had been in town, I would have called the PM clinic. So, I did nothing. I assume that all is okay because the pain has stopped and certainly nothing happened to me.

I do have what I call tacychardia though, this fluttering that takes away my breath, a few times each day.

So, these tips from you and anyone else, I sincerely appreciate.

Sorry to ramble.

Take care.

John

See this recent thread

by DC Pacer - 2010-02-19 07:02:08

http://www.pacemakerclub.com/public/jpage/1/p/story/a/storypage/sid/14576/content.do

TraceyE has a good explanation here; upper limits are the beats per minute (bpm) that the PM will pace assist up to. If your natural heart rate exceeds the upper limit, the PM is not pace assisting at that point.

Upper rate limit

by Selwyn - 2010-02-19 07:02:08

As I understand:
the upper rate limit depends on how fit you are and whether the pacemaker is programmed to take this into account.

In order to avoid overdrive the pacemaker has maximum pacing and sensing levels ( these can be changed to suit the individual level of fitness). The driver is only as good as the motor car!

If you exceed this level of the pacemaker there is a damping mechanism to ensure the pacemaker slows down and doesn't accelerate to damage your heart or sense itself to produce a feedback loop.

If you have a natural pacemaker functioning ( as mine does in exercise, with normal atrial activity, and a not too sick sinus ), the pacemaker does not function and is on standby mode waiting for the natural rhythm to slow. I have my own event monitor which records a one line electrocardiogram - I note that my pacemaker 'goes to sleep' during heavy exercise when my heart is stimulated naturally, and takes an hour or so for the rate to fall for the pacemaker to kick in.

I hope this helps someone make sense

Upper Limit

by ElectricFrank - 2010-02-20 01:02:48

There are actually two upper limits.

There is the upper tracking limit which sets the highest atrial rate that the pacemaker will track and pace the ventricles. In your case if your natural atrial rate exceeds 120 the pacemaker will start skipping beats to keep the average ventricular rate at 120.

There is also the upper Rate Response Limit. This is the upper limit that the rate sensing system can pace the atrium at. It is only used if RR is turned on (DDDR mode).

frank

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