Battery Life

Battery life

by Runner 71 - 2017-01-11 15:10:57

thanks for quick comment. I am trying to forget about it...although hard to as I still have many friends to tell.  

Sparrow has some good points

by Ileen - 2017-01-11 22:16:26

I agree with her, but I think that everyone has to find their own way. I am newbie 22 days from surgery. I hate writing, but like meditation. I think everybody has to find what works for them . We all kinda know in our " hearts " what is right for them. I have problems dealing with health issues, always have,but am beginning to learn at my " young" age, that we really can't control much about our body. We can eat well, exercise, etc... but we really don't know if a part of us will just not work right. I will try to live the positive way, believing the glass is half full. My two cents, Ileen

Battery Life

by Runner 71 - 2017-01-11 23:30:33

Thank you for the comments. I have already been subjected to people saying things like "you were so fit, surprised this tragic thing could happen to you" .  I am happy to have one close friend who has had a pm for four years and is quite dismissive of it.

BUT.....

by Bionic Beat - 2017-01-12 00:58:00

But you're not in a tragic situation.  Unless you prefer to think that way,

yes, something serious happened to your electrical system/heart rate BUT it's been fixed by insertion of a pacemaker.

ive had three pacemakers since 2008 and am very greatful to live in a time where our hearts can be patched up with a short procedure with few complications.

we are lucky, very lucky indeed.

Bionic Beat

Battery life

by Bionic Beat - 2017-01-12 01:03:20

You need to be active, live life to the full.

do not be concerned about the battery life, you cannot control that in any way.  If your heart uses up the battery, they'll be happy to replace it when the time comes.  

You probably have quite awhile to go yet, so enjoy!

Bionic Beat

Pacemaker basics

by Gotrhythm - 2017-01-12 15:30:52

Don't confuse heart block (a heart rythm problem) necessitating a pacemaker with coronary artery disease or other heart disease. You can have either one without the other or both at the same time. Lots of us here have only arrhythmia, and other than that the heart is perfectly normal and healthy.

It's all about whether your heart has electrical problems that keep it from pumping rythmically or whether the issue is with the physical structure that does the pumping work. Put simplistically, the pacemaker is an backup switch for your pump, needed because the factory installed switch has gone faulty.

Staying active is good for your heart (the pump) but it won't affect the life of  the pacemaker. And no amount of activiity will keep you from needing a pacemaker in the first place. We have many members who are remarkable athletes, they were before they got a pacemaker and they are still.

Straighten out those Job's comforters who are commiserating over your "tragedy." You are in no way less healthy, less strong, less able than you were before you got the pacemaker. 

Battery etc

by Runner 71 - 2017-01-12 18:51:23

thank you for the support everyone.

Battery Life

by SteveE - 2017-01-22 13:14:34

Runner - I had my pacemaker replaced last summer when one of my leads failed.  I had a lengthy discussion with my device clinic manager about battery life, as I opted this time for the "long-life" version PM, with a larger battery.  The clinic manager told me that the percentage of time when you are being paced is not the major drain on the batteries of modern pacemakers.  The primary driver of battery drain is now all of the monitoring and management functions of the device.  These devices have so many sensors, ways of self-adjusting, methods of external communication, etc., that the "overhead" is what dictates battery life much more than how often pacing pulses are needed.

I would say just to live your life as if you didn't have the pacemaker.  Let the battery life chips fall where they may.  I've been an online "counselor" at another heart support site for about 14 years now.  When people there ask me how the pacemaker impacts my life, I tell them "Truthfully, the only time I really realize I have it is when I look in the mirror with my shirt off."