Ever hear of

It was Christmas night last year, when all of a sudden I began getting shocked. I was sitting in a rocking chair and suffered 2 episodes both of which i felt like i had been shocked, I ended up going to the ER and on the way to the Hosp I got shocked another 3 times almost 4 within 30 minutes. They did the normal blood work, download etc, and they said all was fine.. Well I have had the thing for over 7 years and I have never been shocked 5 times in one year let alone one night. My Mag and Potassium was a little low nothing to be worried about, and they released me a few hours later, well we got out to the front lobby of the er and Whamoo I got shocked again and they ended up admitting me. They found nothing.

They told me I had suffered a VF Storm, has anyone else heard of this and or been told this before?

3 Comments

Doing its job

by ElectricFrank - 2010-01-12 01:01:10

Sounds like the ICD is doing it's job. I don't understand how the downloaded information didn't show anything. For whatever reason it fired there should have been a record of the triggering events.

From what little I could find on Google a VF Storm is simply a recurring case of Vtach/Vfib. I'm always suspicious when the only articles require paying for viewing them.

Another possibility could be an intermittent lead that generated a false signal and triggered the shocks. In all the cases you mentioned (rocking chair and lobby of the ER) you were moving which could cause a bad lead to break contact.

If you have any more ask to have a checkup with the pacemaker manufacturers tech. They are better at diagnosing this sort of thing.

frank

frank

Electrical Storm

by pacemaker writer - 2010-01-12 03:01:54

I've heard about something in the medical literature called "Electrical Storm" and think this might be it. It's defined as recurring VT/VF. You may be able to find something online under that term.

Are you OK now? Has the device stopped shocking?

Thanks and more info

by beaker - 2010-01-12 05:01:38

Frank, I have had this device for over 6 months now, and I had the previous one for 7 years. The motion of the chair and or walking is not the case.

I suffer from Sudden Death Cardiac arrest. My problem is my heart rate shoots to well over 400 bpm with no warning and sometimes it corrects itself before giving me the shock and other times is does not. Christmas night was a night that it recorded all just fine and showed what it normally shows. So by the time I had gotten to the ER everything was done with, except a rapid heart rate here and there, that they (the er staff etc) didnt really seem to concerned over as to my Cardioligist had already spoken to them to let them know my situation.

Apparently they did not think that I needed a thourough check as to we spent the whole next day in the room just waiting for someone to come in and see me. Since being home on the Mag, and Potass, I still have had some VF's, they just havent lasted long enough to shock me. I do have a Latitudes Computer next to my bed that i can download my device at anytime. I have had maybe 5 episodes since the 26th of December and I have yet to hear from anyone regarding those.

Does anyone live in Indiana? In and or around the Indianapolis Area?

thanks

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