pacemaker mishap??

my mother got a pacemaker wed...she started to have really bad chest pains in the middle of her chest...they thought it was muscle pain but soon come to find that a lead protrudeded into her heart..it did not puncture the heart...they called other cardio docs and were told not to do anything more..(do not go back in to take out or fix)...they gave her pain pills last couple days...first it was 'ct scans look ok'...now its' fluid around heart has gone down'...we asked about fluid and not til this am did we find out that there was fluid...really???...my brother spk to other docs who say to move her to a bigger place with a thorasic surgeon for this one is playing a deadly 'wait and see'...we are uncertain who to believe...our mother is 71 and w/o insurance...she did not get mcare for her husband was working until his stroke recently and now she cant get on mcare til july...has anyone heard of a lead protruding into the heart???...please advise...i hope when our mother gets out she will continue on this site i started for her for she loves to have follow people around to talk to about this surgery...she has yet to move her left arm...any help would be greatly appreciated...thank you, K

3 Comments

pericarditis?

by Pookie - 2011-02-04 09:02:41

Hi.

I think what happened to your mother happened to me.

When the doctor was inserting the leads - one of the leads poked a small hole in my heart (instead of attaching itself to the wall of the heart was my understanding) and when I awoke from surgery I was in the most excrutiating pain I could imagine, but then I thought perhaps I was just a whimp and couldn't handle the pain from surgery. I complained profusely and cried the entire time. Nurses just kept calling a doctor and giving me pain meds but nothing seemed to help. After about 6 hrs of this I guess I got used to the pain and all I wanted is to get OUT of that hospital and go home (big mistake on my part).

I went home and couldn't lay down, couldn't sleep, so I just sat in a chair all night crying. That was a Tuesday...finally on Wednesday I couldn't bear the pain any longer so I went to a walk in clinic where the doctor just gave me more pain meds - they didn't work. On Thursday afternoon something in my gut told me I was in serious trouble and I told Lloyd (my husband) to call 9-1-1. I was to the hospital in 8 mins via ambulance. All my vitals were within "range".

All of a sudden I had this incredible urge to drink as much water as I could (another huge mistake),but it was like I was dying from thirst, so Lloyd got me a bottle of water and I downed it. Even on the hospital gurney/bed I was sitting up because of the pain when I tried to lie flat. Two minutes later I yelled to Lloyd that I felt "funny" and that's all I remember. I had coded.

Lloyd told me it was just like on TV when the nurse yells code Blue and everyone came running. Somehow I came back on my own; I don't remember much, just bits and pieces. All I know I was in another room by then, stripped of all my clothes with all these IVs stuck in me, tilted in the cardiac position (head towards the floor) and an oxygen mask over my face/mouth.

There must have been over a dozen people around me. But I had told Lloyd NEVER to leave me...if anything happened to me - I told him to just scoot to the end of the bed and hold onto my big toe, that way I knew he was there:) <---this was pre-planned before the ambulance arrived.

A lot of things went on that night, most of which I don't remember, but I do remember telling them I was going to "crash" again - and sure enough - I did!!!

Somehow I came back for the 2nd time. By this time the cardiac resident had figured it out - my heart sac was completely full of blood and hence my heart could not beat (even with the pacemaker) because the heart was literally drowned in the blood in the heart sac....so off to emergency surgery I went to have the blood drained.

They didn't have time to knock me out or give me any pain meds, they just opened me up between 2 ribs and drained the blood. I immediately felt relief and was then sent to Critical Care.....the story goes on and on but suffice it to say that in less than 1% of all cases is the risk of a lead piercing the heart (just takes a little hole) and I almost didn't make it.

I've been on this site for almost 6 yrs now and I am not the first this has happened to, nor will I be the last.

I'm just glad they found your mom's problem as fast as they did. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It will take a very long time for the fluid to dissipate if they don't drain it (as they can't get it all via surgery anyways). I was also left with fluid around the lungs. I was put on Prednisone, but that's the only med, other than antiobiotics that I can remember. Actually I try not to remember that day as 4 yrs later I was finally diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from all of the "events" I experienced - which is VERY VERY rare.

Just insist that they do Xrays or even better -- ultrasounds to see if the fluid is going away.

Insist that you are kept up to date and please tell your mom to tell anyone if she is feeling the least bit worse.

Actually, if I were her, I would not leave until I felt a whole heck of a lot better.

Ask the doctor if it is Pericarditis....

I could be totally wrong, but from what you describe, it sounds too familiar to what I experienced.

Once the fluid has gone, she will be fine:)

I wish her the best of luck.

hugs,
Pookie

Part 2

by Pookie - 2011-02-04 10:02:34

I didn't write that to scare you. I wrote that to let you know that your mother's situation seems to have been caught in time and she is being monitored.

As long as the fluid doesn't increase or her pain doesn't increase she should be fine.

But like I mentioned, it will take a long time for the fluid to dissipate.

They can tell by taking a simple chest Xray.

The thing I would be asking is: what about the lead that created this whole mess...is it still in the proper position?????

Mine had to be replaced. The leads attach to the heart. At the end of the lead (there are 2 types) is either a little hook end or a screw type end. I had the hook type that caused all my issues. When I had surgery to reposition the lead, the cardiac surgeon decided on the screw end type. I'm fine now.

Please keep me posted.

You can email me here if you know how to private message or you can email me (if you wish) at:

Pookiegoof@yahoo.ca

and if you need references...LOL....just ask anyone on here - I've been a member here for a very long time and I'm more than willing to help in any way that I can. I am also a Moderator of the site.

I can't wait for your mother to feel better and be able to join us here herself:) She (and you) will find oodles of support here. We're a great bunch of people - if I must say so myself.

Take care,
Pookie

If it were me I'd take the Thoracic surgeon's

by janetinak - 2011-02-05 12:02:07

advice & move to a larger medical center & a doc with a lot of experience. Not sure where your Mom is being treated but experience pays off & the bigger the better.
Maybe if you mention the area (state/city) where she is being treated members here can offer advice on where to consider moving. At the very least a 2nd opinion is in order if it has not been done yet.

My thoughts go out to you & your Mom,

Janet

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