Pacemaker vs. defibulator

My daughter in law is an EMT,  and has told me to wear my pacemaker ID bracelet all the time.  She says they wouldn't use a defibulator on a person with a pacemaker, but they need to know this.   Anyone hear of this before?  

7 Comments

What would be the alternative ?

by IAN MC - 2017-04-17 13:49:59

If you need shocking , you need shocking   ..... death is the alternative ! 

If your daughter-in-law ever has to treat me I want to be defibrillated please ( no need to waste time looking for an ID bracelet, I don't have one )

I have read somewhere that it is usual practice not to put the pads directly on top of the PM site .

Ian

not correct

by Tracey_E - 2017-04-17 14:20:04

As Ian said, if they are using a defib on us, our heart has stopped. What is there to lose? When I took my last CPR class, they said don't put the paddles directly over the device so they are put at a slightly different position for us. Other than that, we're no different from anyone else. I would assume the AED I was trained on isn't much different funtionally than what the EMT's carry. 

Many do not bother with id bracelets, but I've been told by more than one friend who is a first responder that it's a good idea. I have about a dozen of them, something to go with every outfit or occasion. I don't usually bother unless I'm traveling. I wore them religiously for a while but then got out of the habit. Twenty years paced and it's never been an issue, haven't needed the medic alert or my id card. 

icd

by Tracey_E - 2017-04-17 14:21:16

Maybe she meant they wouldn't use one on someone with an icd. That would be kind of redundant, they've already got one. It's not that they can't, it's that there's no need.

ID

by Hamsquatch - 2017-04-17 14:35:55

Wearing my wrist ID for me now is kind of like wearing a seatbelt, it's just automatic. My friend is an EMT and I've discussed this with him, if you have a pacemaker/icd combo they will likely not cardiovert you, however if you are being cardioverted by your device too much they have a magnet which can disable it. 

ICD

by Grateful Heart - 2017-04-17 16:52:55

If defib is needed and for some reason the ICD didn't fire, then the external defib should be used to save a life.  The device should be interrogated to make sure the external defib did not change any settings.

I forget to wear my id bracelet too.  If I was out alone I would wear it but when I'm out with family or friends I didn't need to....they could speak for me if I couldn't. 

Grateful Heart

??

by BOBJ - 2017-04-18 13:05:53

Tracey - I have a crt-d (biventricular pacer with icd).

If there ever was a condition that required me to be shocked externally would they be able to?

I hate asking but I am curious.

 

yes

by Tracey_E - 2017-04-25 10:41:15

Theoretically your device would fire on its own faster than anyone could react and get the AED set up, that's why you have it. But yes, you can be safely defibbed. 

You know you're wired when...

You can feel your fingers and toes again.

Member Quotes

I'm 35 and got my pacemaker a little over a year ago. It definitely is not a burden to me. In fact, I have more energy (which my husband enjoys), can do more things with my kids and have weight because of having the energy.