Faulty Lead - Draining Battery

Hello I an 35 years old and I have a Dual Chamber Mode:DDDR Medtronic KDR901 Pacemaker - I received my 6th Pacemaker in 2004 and the leads in 1996.

Pacer Function:
Sensing Atrial: Unknown
Ventricular: Yes
Capture: Atrial Yes, Ventricular Yes

I have a faulty lead wire to the Atrial, top chamber of my heart depends on pacemaker 100%

Voltage: 0.75 in Ventricular & 2 in Atrial
Impedance 1022 in Ventricular and 139 in Atrial.

Sensing in Ventricular: 15.68 Atrial: Unknown

States pacemaker device has 7months remaining.

For the past year I have experienced sharp pains on my right side of chest where the top lead is looped to go to the heart. I have other old leads placed in the heart yet and believe that they are making noise, and I have shock like symptoms but the old leads are not connected to the pacemaker they are just floating in there. I went to the doctor and found out I have a faulty lead. Due to the 2-3 leads I have in my heart already they may extract them out the the heart and replace the faulty lead but there is a high risk of bleeding. Have anyone had old leads extracted?

Also they mentioned that they could just replace the battery every 3 years but no guarantee the lead won't quit 100%. Plus not sure if I want to be opened up every 3 years. I had open heart at 16months but don't remember really any of it. Died once and they brought me back. PTL!

The past month I have felt more and more tired. I was singing for church the other day and became out of breath and had numbness and tingling in both of my hands, than very tired after that, what is that from? Why is it happening?

The doctors state I have 7 months til the battery will die, insurance won't cover til I am in backup mode or unless the doctors state I can't wait. I see cardiologist surgeon this Nov 2010 and wonder if I should insist of having the surgery done soon. I feel lite headed, dizzy more, and just tired.

Can anyone look at this info and give me their thoughts, suggestions, opinions etc. I would so greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

6 Comments

EOL Mode?

by Star - 2010-11-02 03:11:21

I had a check-up last month - Oct and wasn't in EOL mode The Impedance for the ventricular is 1022 which is good I believe? But the Impedance for the Atrial at the time was 139.

I feel lethargic a lot more since my doctors visit 3 weeks ago. Not sure if I should wait til Nov 29th when I see the cardio surgeon to discuss what the plan will be.

Pulse seems fine, but when I need to walk or do more physical stuff it's like the pacemaker trigger right. When I had a stress test it showed that the lead was causing a whole punch of didn't things and not triggering when it was suppose to etc.

Very difficult to even go to work these days I work only 3 hours but I'm just lethargic.

Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it.

faulty leads

by Tracey_E - 2010-11-02 03:11:45

I was in a similar situation, my ventricular lead (which I'm 100% dependent on) was impeded. I kept it through one battery change, that battery lasted two years before it got worse and replacing it wasn't optional. I decided battery replacements more often was better than messing with the lead until it was absolutely necessary. I have a lot of years of pacing ahead of me so I wanted to hold off getting another lead as long as I could. I ended up not needing an extraction, there was room to squeeze one more lead in. I had a venogram to determine this. If you already have 3 odds are high you'll have to extract.

We have quite a few members who have had extractions, only one serious complication among a dozen or more success stories. If you search "extraction" you should be able to find their posts. The technology has come a long way in the last few years, and the number of experienced drs is much higher than it was, it is not nearly as risky as it used to be. I read that you should only use a dr who does 100 or more extractions per year.

If you are pacing, even with an impeded lead, you should not feel tired, etc. The pm is still doing its job, it's just using up a lot more battery power to do it. The tingling could be the lead. If it is, you might want to get it replaced sooner rather than later, if it's the lead it could do tissue damage.

When was your last check? It's possible you are already in EOL mode sooner than expected, that can make you tired and dizzy because the pm has limited function. I was checked last Nov and expected to have it replaced Feb-March. I went back for another check in Jan and had been in EOL for 4 weeks! My lead had gotten worse in that time and the battery drain was faster than expected.

Good luck!!!

call

by Tracey_E - 2010-11-02 04:11:17

If you suddenly can't do what you could do before, you should be checked! Is your pulse going up with activity? I'm not sure about the numbers (Frank and Smitty are great at it, maybe they'll see this and jump in!) but the impedance will jump up right before the battery goes. I forget what the numbers are but mine tripled between Sept and Nov, I went into EOL in Dec.

Good luck! It sure sounds like something is changing. Don't mess around, you don't want to be replacing leads on an emergency, you want to plan it out.

change it out

by pioxen - 2010-11-02 07:11:39

St Judes doesn't have these problems. I'm on my second DDDR pacer and never one problem with pacer or leads...Medtronic has had lots of recalls...I'd switch...ASAP.

Anyone tell me what these numbers mean?

by Star - 2010-11-03 01:11:06

Hello,
Thanks you all for your responses I appreciate them so much.

Feeling punky today a bit lethargic at times but not all day long.

Can anyone tell me what these numbers me if they know. Thanks Guys

Pacer Function:
Sensing Atrial: Unknown
Ventricular: Yes
Capture: Atrial Yes, Ventricular Yes

I have a faulty lead wire to the Atrial, top chamber of my heart depends on pacemaker 100%

Voltage: 0.75 in Ventricular - 2 in Atrial
Impedance 1022 in Ventricular and 139 in Atrial.

Sensing in Ventricular: 15.68 Atrial: Unknown

States pacemaker device has 7months remaining.

Move your appointment up ASAP

by TSan1961 - 2010-11-16 02:11:08

Hi Star,
I can't answer all of your questions but obviously your Atrial lead needs to be replaced ASAP (an impedance of less than 200 means it's barely working). Chances are that it's draining battery life much faster than it would if it had strong impedance. My atrial lead is also currently going bad, but I just got a new pacemaker and ventricle lead last month, so the EP isn't concerned about it just yet. (I'm 100% dependent on the ventricular, 85% on Atrial.) It sounds to me like you're experiencing EOL mode right now. That happened to me with my previous pacemaker, just like TraceyE...I had been feeling tired and scheduled a pacer check and was told I had 19 months of battery life, which was confusing considering the way I felt. The following month I was constantly out of breath, could hardly lift an arm or stand without starting to black out. My husband took me to emergency and we found out that my pacer was on EOL and needed immediate replacement - less than a month after being told it had 19 months! At that time it was just a battery replacement, the leads were fine.
In your case, (like TraceyE suggested), since you already know that you'll need a lead replacement, you'll want that scheduled in advance, rather than an emergency situation. They'll need to schedule an operating room. PLEASE call today, if you haven't already done so, and get your appointment moved up immediately. Make sure you see your EP and cardiologist so he/she understands how you're feeling and takes you seriously NOW.
Best wishes, hon.
Teresa

You know you're wired when...

Your heart beats like a teenager in love.

Member Quotes

My eight year old son had a pacemaker since he was 6 months old. He does very well, plays soccer, baseball, and rides his bike. I am so glad he is not ashamed of his pacemaker. He will proudly show his "battery" to anyone.