New PM losing battery life..

Hi,
I'm 100% paced and had my PM put in on 2-10-2012, that's just over 4 months ago. At my first check up/adjustment I had 8 years on my St. Jude 2210 Accent DRRF that paces my two ventricles, not my atrium, because at the time of implantation I was told I'm in permanent A-fib. Now I'm not in A-fib.

Last Monday at a check up I was told I have 5 years left on my battery life. Originally, I was told that my PM was adjusted to have the longest battery life possible. And at cardio rehab, the RNs have a difficult time hearing my BP because it's faint.

So at this rate-- losing 3 years of battery life every 4 to 5 months, that means that 5 months from now I'll have 2 years left on my battery and 10 months from now I'll be zeroed out. What's going on? I didn't question, just listened, but now I have a lot of questions. Anyone have this situation. Any thoughts?

8 Comments

estimating life

by Tracey_E - 2012-06-20 03:06:40

When you first get it, they usually send you home with standard settings. Your battery life is estimated with your current amount of pacing with THOSE settings. Each time we go back, if they adjust the settings the estimated life is recalculated with the new settings. So, if you pace the same amount and keep the same settings as you have now, you should have about 5 years left. It's normal to tweak a bit the first few checks so 5 years is a good guess for now.

There are people who get 8-10 yrs but I think 5-7 is more realistic. I'm on my 4th one and have never gotten more than 6 yrs out of one. The good news is changes are super easy. If I get an early appointment, I'm home fixing my own lunch.

I agree with TraceyE

by janetinak - 2012-06-20 04:06:07

my 1st Pm lasted about 2.5 yrs ( 10/00-5/03) due to some lead problem that drained the battery fast. My 2nd was changed out @ 8 yrs 3 months. It is my understanding that the average is somewhere around 8 yrs but things happen. I am 100% paced & hoping to get another 8 yrs out of this PM. Changing out the PM is usually a breeze, except for the anxiety that is expected for any thing new. Hope this helps.

Janet

Battery Life

by ldebaugh - 2012-06-20 05:06:53

Thanks for your comments. I guess it's possible I have a lead problem. My settings were changed twice in the first week and 3 time since then and I'm going in Monday for another change. Perhaps changes use the battery up faster.

The changes are trying to help me get my heart rate up when I exercise. I have difficulty breathing because the HR stays so low, stairs and hills just kill me. I know athletes run and do other sports. They sure wouldn't do it with my PM.

I am super healthy, feel great and have great energy. At cardiac rehab, they always want me to go faster but my HR won't go up, so I can't. This has been the same problem from the beginning. On a 6% slope at 3.6 mph I can only get my HR to 103. I take my pulse (an app on my phone) and the same thing is happening when I walk up hills and do stairs. It goes up just a little, but not enough for me to keep from being sob. And some times I'm doubled over due to sob and have to stop altogether. So, I'm in for another change. I think this is the last one they can do to help, then I just have to put up with it.

I'm so disappointed because it really hampers traveling. Last weekend I went to NYC and I totally slowed the works down. I would go up stairs from the Metro and if I made it I'd be doubled over gasping. Walking up a hill with a tiny suitcase (I travel very light) was impossible and I stopped to gasp every 20 feet or so. My husband has a lot of opportunities to travel I really want to travel but this was so disappointing.

So if this PM runs out of juice early, I won't be disappointed and I'll be asking for recommendations to replace this one with a more responsive one.

Question...

by Pookie - 2012-06-20 10:06:05

What are is your lower limit and what is your higher limit?

Did you discuss with whomever adjusts your pacemaker exactly what you described above?

Just a suggestion, but ask to be put on the treadmill (stress test) so they can see for themselves exactly what is going on with you when you exert yourself.

And Tracey is correct, when you 1st get a pacemaker they do come with default settings which is why some of us have to go back several times to get the settings adjusted for our particular needs.

Take care,
Pookie

Range

by ldebaugh - 2012-06-20 10:06:09

Hi Pookie,
My lower limit is 65 and my upper limit is 140. The next time I go in they will put me on a treadmill. I've been going to rehab and they have that data too. And I have the data recorded in my phone HR monitor--and it's the same. My PM is set now with a slope of 8 and a very slow recovery rate. I think they will do a sharper slope, but I really don't think that will make the HR go higher, which means I'm still stuck with a lower HR. We'll see.

settings

by Tracey_E - 2012-06-21 09:06:19

This is all perfectly normal!!!! I would be very surprised if it's a lead. There are a LOT of settings on a pm, many just for rate response alone. They like to do very small changes rather than drastic changes so taking a few tries to get it right is prudent and normal. It doesn't not mean anything is wrong, just that they are working at it.

Something to suggest, sometimes getting on a treadmill while hooked up to the pm computer can duplicate what happens when you exert and speed up the process of fine tuning.

Battery life

by ElectricFrank - 2012-06-21 12:06:28

The reported battery is only a very rough estimate. Until a history is established for your particular pacer and installation it doesn't mean much. Like many here I have seen my battery life jump all over the place for the first few years. Don't be surprised to see yours back up to 6 years at the next checkup.

The whole situation is a lot like our cell phones or notebook computers. Rarely do the battery indicators tell us much reliable.

frank

back from the cardiologist

by ldebaugh - 2012-06-25 01:06:29

Hi All,
First thanks to all of you for being so considerate and commenting on my issues.

The good news is that my EF went from 30% in January to 53%!! Actually it's great news!

Next I am scheduled for July 5th for the treadmill test. Because during cardio rehab, my heart rate only goes to 110 on the treadmill after walking at a good clip for 25 minutes he thinks I may have pacemaker syndrome. He said if they adjust my PM more, it will burn up the battery pretty quickly.

Here's how he described it:
The right atrium is likely in Sinus Rhythm (now) and is pacing. The ventricles are both paced independently by the PM and thus the two (atrium/ventricles) are not in synch. When this happens, the atrium (when it senses I need more on exertion) is pushing blood forward and the blood meets a closed valve since the top part of my heart no longer has a connection/communication to the lower half (it would usually communicate atrium to ventricle by the AV node, but mine was ablated.) This has a name: pacemaker syndrome.

If this is what he determines that I have, he wants me to go to Hopkins and get the PM replaced early. It was implanted on 2/10/2012. Of course the Hopkins docs may not agree. But at least I know more now, which is so much better than wondering if it's my function (53% EF is wonderful for me). If I have to live with it I will, and it will be good to burn the battery faster, then get it replaced with one that suits me better. The St. Jude Med rep has already told me that I need one with a greater range of programmability than I have.

So thanks for all your good comments and suggestions, I feel like I'm going in the right direction.
M'Liz (ldebaugh)

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