pacemaker pause

ask your doctor

by Tracey_E - 2017-08-10 16:51:30

When in doubt call and ask to have the pacer interrogated, but it's more likely that it's beating a smaller beat between the larger beats and you're not feeling it than something is wrong.

Unless you feel bad, try to resist the urge to take your pulse constantly, you'll drive yourself crazy! (voice of experience speaking here lol)

It may depend on why your pacemaker was inserted

by LondonAndy - 2017-08-10 19:46:04

You don't say why you have been given a pacemaker, and this could be very relevant.  I had mine because of surgical complication when a heart valve was fitted 3 years ago (they accidentally damaged the electrics of my heart).  However, there was a possibility my heart would in fact recover, so in the first few months the pacemaker would wait every so often to see if my heart would beat on its own.  The pacemaker then continued to trigger beats when my heart failed to do so on its own.

At a checkup, when they looked at the readings stored by the pacemaker, they said it was clear my heart electrics would not recover and they stopped the pacemaker from doing this test.  So as Tracey says, don't worry unless you feel bad, and if you do, talk to your pacemaker guru.

Between the lines

by Gotrhythm - 2017-08-13 15:28:13

Is your pacemaker doing something wrong? Is it stopping or getting ready to stop? I think, reading between the lines, that's your question.

The odds are overwhelming that your pacemaker is working fine. It's early days. Your heart is getting used to being paced and it can take a while for things to settle down. Certain arrythmias can cause some beats to be so weak they are hard to detect, but your heart is still beating, and your pacemaker is working.

In a couple of weeks, you will go back for a check up, and possibly to have some of the pacemaker settings adjusted. Be sure to bring up your questions then. It's not uncommon for people to need several tries to get their pacemaker into optimal adjustment for their condition.