Not sure if I need Pacemaker?

Not sure if I need pacemaker?

I'm 49 years old and I began to take notice of my slow heart Rate a several months ago while at the hospital for something else I keep setting off the alarms where ever I go they always just tell me it's no big deal its the machines and the usually shut them off so I never really thought it was a big deal i looked back so far just the last 4 years shows bradycardia ranging 40 to 48 BPM at different medical offices and more recently at  home the last couple of months with oxomiter's & doctor ordered heart monitor & patches standing 45 to 60 BPM sitting usually 39-45 BPM laying down or Sleeping 31-40 BPM with the occasional 28 BPM my last stay at the hospital I kept getting into the low mid thirties and they almost gave me a pacemaker but decided against it because I can get my heart rate up if I'm active and I haven't passed out  I did a CTA Scan of the heart and it showed no Block but two mild leaky heart valves and I did good on Stress Test except the guys that gave the test acted like they haven't seen a heart rate like mine before took them alot longer and some of my blood tests are a little off like BNP Is a little high 188. Have dizziness lightheadedness tired but I haven't passed out and I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea don't know if that's contributing to it or causing it

My new cardiologist was also not sure if I needed a pacemaker but now from the heart monitor patch results he see's I'm getting down to low thirtys with the occasional 28 BPM thinks we should do a emergency pacemaker this week


9 Comments

Welcome

by LondonAndy - 2018-04-24 03:48:51

Welcome to the forum, Bully Boy.  Lots of information there, but what you haven't mentioned is: how do you feel?  Do you get dizzy spells?  Have you passed out?  It is not unusual for very fit people to have low heart rates, but having said that your BPM readings do sound too low and I am not surprised they are recommending a pacemaker.  

Symptoms

by Bully Boy - 2018-04-24 04:18:31

Thanks LondonAndy 

I haven't  passed out but I get really dizzy but even if my heart rate is 60 or 70 I seem to get dizziness maybe worse if I get in normal range and every once in a while  a shortness of breath dry cough 

just get it

by Tracey_E - 2018-04-24 09:40:27

Unless you have a crystal ball, not passing out is not a good measure of when you need a pacer! We've had members pass out while driving or  on the stairs, then had to deal with other serious injury in addition to pacer surgery. My rate was 21 when I was admitted for emergency surgery. I could have gone into cardiac arrest and died, but I never passed out. It's not about not passing out. It's about our body getting the oxygen it needs. 

Getting your rate up on activity is great, but it doesn't negate that dipping so low while you sleep is bad. Your body needs oxygen it's not getting. What you are describing is called Sick Sinus Syndrome, when the sinus node gets lazy at rest. The pacer will kick in when it gets too low, it'll just watch when you get going on your own. 

Your apnea needs to be addressed, but treating the apnea isn't going to bring your heart rate up and it's not what's causing the dips. Drugs won't bring it up and it won't go away on its own. Dizziness is directly related to the heart rate being too low. Tiredness is probably a combination of the low rate at night and the apnea.

Listen to your doctor. Just get it, don't wait. You'll probably be amazed at how much better you feel. When our rates are very low for a long time we get very good at compensating, at blaming it on other things, at convincing ourselves we are fine.

I had no idea how bad I felt until I had a normal heart rate to compare it to. I felt energized from the moment I woke up in recovery. My heart rate tripled when they turned on the pacer so not everyone has the drastic change I did, but it was like mainlining coffee. I got in trouble with the nurses that night for pacing the halls but I was way too energized to stay in bed. That was 1994.  I'm a couple of years older than you at 51, on my 5th pacer now, and I haven't slowed down. There's nothing I want to do that I cannot.

Get it

by zawodniak2 - 2018-04-24 11:18:30

Speaking from experience, your condition will not improve on its own and will get worse with time. After passing out twice, I got a pacemaker 10 years ago and my quality of life was improvered.  One of the underlying symptoms with our condition is “anxiety “ or thoughts of why do I feel unwell and what could happen if this continues. Now that I see my heart rate above 60 bpm I feel well and greatful for having Sparky #2 assisting my ticker. 

               Rodger 

Rational doubts

by Gotrhythm - 2018-04-24 16:00:08

Having doubts initially about getting a pacemaker is, I think, heatthy and completely rational. But as I read your very clear, detailed post, I wondered what makes you unsure that you need a pacemaker?

Here's what made me doubt. I thought there must be some other way to deal with the problem of a heart that beat too slow to support normal activity. I thought we should hold off until I did some research and found out what I could do on my own.

I also wondered, since sometimes my heart rate was higher than others, if that didn't mean that my heart could get better on it's own.

I also thought that since I hadn't passed out, I probably wasn't going to.

I was wrong. 1. You can't improve breadycardia through diet and medication. 2. Heart rythm issues do not get better on their own, and over time are likely to get worse. 3. I could pass out.

In your case, sleep apnea isn't good for your heart and needs to be addressed, but it isn't the reason your heart rate is sometimes 45 when you are standing, wide awake.

Don’t be afraid

by Claracluck - 2018-04-24 17:42:45

I had a pacemaker with a D- fib fitted 28/03/28 had really low heart rate much like yours lowest 26bpm along with eptopics . Hospital made me wait three weeks because of my age (49 )and low platelets.couldnt wait to have it was desperate to have it, couldnt even walk to toilet without feeling dizzy and sick .and now four weeks in i feel so much better ,its been scary coming to terms with my new normal and the meds make me tired  but everyday im getting back to  activities that i did before .a pacemaker is an added back up plan . I feel so lucky to have had a second chance.

this is a very supportive forum any questions you have will be answered by people who really know what its like to live with a pacemaker its helped me enormously.

good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

 

 

Leaning toward a peacemaker

by Bully Boy - 2018-04-24 18:58:54

Thanks everyone for all the great advice!! Definitely leaning toward getting the pacemaker Question Claracluck sounds similar to me 

My platelets are also low and thyroid is borderline low and bnp is a little high and vitamin D is low 

Doesn't seem like the doctors know why

Are these common with bradycardia?

Are people normally put on medications with a pacemaker?

The only thing I can think that could have caused it I'm a former 30 Year heavy smoker quit 1 Year ago that's when all got worse and i have taken xanax for anxiety for the last 20 years 

Heart twins

by Claracluck - 2018-04-24 22:19:15

This s a little spookey! When i went to the doctors with intial symptons blood tests showed my thyroid was underactive  and i thought this was affecting my heart but it turned out to be a separate issue .

my platelets dropped in hospital and i was placed on steroids this delayed the pacemaker fitting ( healing the wound sight) and im still on steroids but weaning off now. Again the docs dont know why.

im on meds for eptopic heartbeat ( beta blockers)now that the pacemaker has raised my heart rate

The meds make me a little tired but keep me alive and nowhere as bad as i felt before . 

I still have to have my  six week check up so all these things will be reviewed and tweaked which will be interesting 

I always remember that this had been creeping on gradually for some time and you sort of get used to feeling rubbish , but its something that cant be fixed or heal on its own.

Hope these answers some of your questions and gets you to where you need to be .i had all the same feeling s as you and i am a novice too .

 

 

why

by Tracey_E - 2018-04-24 22:37:12

Most of us never get an answer why. Electrical problems can be caused by some medications, by infection, by other heart surgeries, they can come on with age, but more often than not they happen at random in an otherwise healthy heart, in people who are young and otherwise healthy. Ever have two identical tv's (phones/computers/anything electronic) and one lasts years and years but the other goes wonky ten minutes after the warranty is up? That's us, dud wiring. Nothing we did caused it, nothing we could have done differently would have prevented it. Exercise keeps the heart muscle strong, eating right keeps the arteries clear. Electrical problems are unrelated. 

Unless there is another underlying heart problem, just having a pacer does not mean we need medication. It's a purely electrical fix to an electrical problem, no drugs needed unless something else is going on. 

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