Do I need a pacemaker

BIBA

by IAN MC - 2017-10-24 12:27:48

I am curious, why have you had all those tests if you haven't had any symptoms ?

Many people lead normal lives with slow heart rates but the normal resting HR range is 60 to 100 bpm and anything less than that is automatically labelled as bradycardia.

Having said that, you don't have much leeway to fall much lower and then you may start to feel as though you are going to faint. Only you know how you feel . With your HR levels,  many people would feel tired most of the time as they wouldn't be getting enough oxygen being pumped around their bodies.

It seems daft to have unnnecessary invasive surgery so I would monitor things VERY closely.   First sign of symptoms, if it ever happens,  get a PM !  ( but that is just my opinion , it depends on how much of a risk-taker you are )

Best of luck

Ian

Ian

by Biba - 2017-10-24 12:41:41

I was being prepped for  cataract surgery about 4 months ago,  they checked my blood pressure which was fine but my pulse was only around 40. Five months prior to the Cataract surgery I had a yearly physical anf my heart rate was in the 70's.  

Hmmmm

by IAN MC - 2017-10-24 12:49:51

All the more reason to monitor things pretty closely.  If your heart-rate is gradually drifting downwards it could mean that your sinus node is becoming lazy.

I would have thought that the stress of being prepped for cataract surgery would usually send heart-rate up .

For what it's worth, my HR started dropping into the 40's and  I did develop symptoms . I fainted once and immediately had a pacemaker fitted . I have never looked back and lead a perfectly normal active life BUT that doesn't help you with your quandary !

Ian

What Ian said...

by Gotrhythm - 2017-10-24 14:59:41

I echo what Ian said. I certainly understand why anyone wouldn't want a pacemaker if they didn't need one. But do be aware that the situation can change overnight. I was in a good bit of denial about my symptoms and wanted to wait on a pacemaker when my heartrate was hovering around 50. A year before it had been 60. Two years before 72.

A month later, overnight it seemed, it went down to 34 with 4-6 second pauses and my blood pressure fell to dangerous levels. And suddenlymy need for a pacemaker was an emergency. Not really ideal conditions.

Hindsight is wonderful. If I could do everything differently I would use the wait time to thoroughly research pacemakers just so I would know how to ask intelligent questions in case I did need one. 

I would also purchase a pulse-ox monitor, not expensive and available at most drug stores and online. My symptoms were transitory and therefore easily deniable. I suspect my denial would have crumbled sooner if I had seen how what I felt correlated with changes in my heart rate and oxygenation levels.

I truly did not know what symptoms I had until they were gone.

What Gotrhythm said.....

by Shaun - 2017-10-24 18:01:35

The situation can change over night. I had no symptoms, then suddenly I kept passing out every time I fell asleep. In all my wife said I passed out over a dozen times during the 24 hour period that preceded my implant.

Another reason

by marylandpm - 2017-10-24 22:47:31

  It's much better to have a schedule time in a hospital that does a lot of pacemaker implants than be in a emergency situation during a holiday weekend or while your traveling. 

Gotrhythm a question

by Biba - 2017-10-25 08:58:46

Thank you and all the others for the great information.  I am investigating a Pulse-Ox monitor.  I assume that the monitor could help me to determine if my situation is changing for the worse  prior to me having symptoms.  If I am correct in my assumption should I use the monitor to check my HR several times a day or just once or twice a day?  As far as sympyoms other than just being tired what is normally the first one I will have.  I have Sleep Apnea and have been treated with a CPAP since 1999.  I rarely get more than 5 hours of sleep a night.  So I am almost always tired.  Thanks for all your help.

Pulse-Ox and symptoms

by Gotrhythm - 2017-10-25 14:12:15

With hindsight I think checking my pulse-ox several times a day would have alerted me to the symptoms I was having. One of the first and most problematic symptoms was sometimes being unable to keep my mind on what I was doing. I was under deadline for a book at the time. When I felt good, I could see that there wasn't that much to do. But somehow I coudn't seem to finish it. I've never felt so frustrated, so inadequate, a total screw up who didn't live up to her contractual obligations.

I have no idea what first symptom you might have. For a lot of people it's fainting, but I never fainted.

If I had used a pulse ox monitor I think I would have recognised what doctors called panic attacks and depression for what they were: bradycardia and/or tachycardia episodes, long pauses, and falling oxygen saturation. (as soon as I got the pacemaker all my "neuroses" disappeared.)

When doctors said I needed a pacemaker, I would have seen for myself just how erratic my pulse really was. Looking back, I believe I could have used a pacemaker at least five years before I got one, and my quality of life could have been significantly better.

Do I need a pacemaker

by JacekU - 2017-11-14 09:18:50

I had a loop recorder implanted and it recorded that when I have fainted I actually was flatland I. E. A pause of 27 seconds. That was a suprise as my av block was just first degree. The heart will restart on its own hopefully but each time you loose conciousness you can get into accident. Definitely I suggest pm if you drive.