ICD Sparked 28 times
My mother-in-law (70 yrs. old) had an ICD implanted November 2010. 3 weeks later it sparked 28 times. She spent 3 weeks in the hospital/rehab after the incident. Her heart rate & bp are controlled now but she is petrified (can't blame her). She lives alone. Some days are better than others but she is scared to be alone most of the time. She complains of soreness ("like a sunburn") on her sternum. She also complains of her left breast (the side the icd is on) feeling very heavy; so much so she has to lay down. Also a tightness in her neck & chest. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Her primary care tells her to ask her cardiologist & her cardiologist is not giving her any answers. Sorry for the lengthy note. It has been a long few months. Thanks in advance for your help!
2 Comments
Rev.Shayna
by Rev.Shayna - 2011-02-19 09:02:45
The 17th of this month was 2 years to the date since I had my pacemaker put in. It was the worst 45 minutes of my life. The medication they gave me that was suppose to make me not remember a thing dident work and the numbing medication failed also. By the time that the anasteologist realized that the drugs were not going to work, they had given me so much that they could not use a general. Not only was I fully awake and aware of what was going on, but could feel everything they were doing. When they made the pocket for the pacemaker, it felt like someone was ripping the flesh off my chest. So I feel for your mom. I still feel also feel the same heavyness you discribed on the left side. My cardeologist said that this is sometimes a ongiong symptom for women who are bigger brested, due to more weight that larger cupped sized women have. I still get soreness on the left side when I am more active. My cardeologist said it is caused for the same reason. He told me to get a sports bra with no underwire and when I'm active to use a ace wrap losely wraped over the sports bra for extra support. It has helped alot. Also the straps of a sports bra tend not to earatate the area where the pacemaker is as much as a regular bra. It really made a big difference in comfort for me. As far as her fear of being alone. Mabe you could look into a program like life alert. It's about $99.00 a month but worth the peace of mind for both of you in case another misfiring happens with her device. There are other programs like life alert that go by different names that are a bit cheeper. At her age even without the device it might be a good way for her to keep her independence and feel safe at the same time. Also check to see if your community has a program like the one in Eureka California. It is run throught the local police dept. They call at a time that is set by the indavidual every day and if that person does not answer the phone they call a back up person who lives nearby with a key to the house to check on the person. They will even send a police officer to check if no responce and they cant get the back up person. It's a wellness check program for the elderly and disabled. Hope this helps.
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ICD sparks
by supergas - 2011-02-19 04:02:13
A barrage of ICD discharges so soon after implant (particularly if the reason for implant was prophylactic -meaning your ejection fraction was <35%) more often implies a loose lead tip resulting in inadvertent induction of VT leading to the shocks. The second most likely cause is inappropriate discharges due to noise sensed by the device (loose header screw?) or due to some other arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. VT storm is most unlikely if there was no prior history of VT. Really, too little info to work with to give good answer.
Pain may be due to the surgical procedure but should have resolved by now. Make sure there's no infection or clot involving the subclavian vein or its branches from the neck.