pacing rate

Hi

by Bionic Beat - 2018-07-01 09:57:58

I think a rate of 60 is normal for the low rate.  You have to remember that the heart slows considerably when we are asleep.  You dont give the upper rate but Im sure its giving you plenty of leeway for a activity, you dont sound like you are very active at the moment.

Your fatigue could be from many other causes so get those checked out and dont worry about your settings unless you are very active and cannot do as much as you'd like.....that seems to be when most people have their settings changed.

Are you eating well, are you reasonably active, are you sleeping well or are you fretting because you are new to this cardiac 'stuff'?  These are all reasons for being fatigued or even depressed.  Find someone, possibly a nurse who can speak to you about your concerns.

Best Wishes

Bionic Beat

Base rate can be raised if that's what's needed

by Gotrhythm - 2018-07-01 14:51:03

There's no rule that says the base rate has to be 60bpm. The docs choose 60 because they wish to conserve battery life, and if someone is okay with 60 there's no reason to make it higher. A base rate of 60 is a just starting place. Some people feel better at 70 even 80, while some people need it to be lower than 60--50 or 55 for them to feel their best.

But the base rate that's right for you all depends on how you feel and whether you are able to do what you wish to. If you're still tired all the time after a year, it needs to be looked into. Maybe your base rate needs to be raised, maybe you need cardiac rehab, maybe something else is going on. 

I had to lean on my EP and really insist to get my rate changed to 70, but the improvement was instantaneous. I hadn't felt bad at 65, but at 70 I felt really well and like myself for the first time since I got the pacemaker.

Talk to whoever is managing your pacemaker. Tell them what's going on and request a trial of a higher base rate. If that's all that's needed, it's an easy fix.

Pacing

by DAVID H - 2018-07-03 18:56:59

This is a subject I'd like to become more knowledgeable about.  I'm an A-V Node ablated guy, and I surmise I should be paced 100%, correct?  PVC's have - in the past - kept my pacing at 93%.  I just had a pacemaker interrogation I transmitted a couple days ago, and I feel like my incidents of PVC's have increased.  I've brought the subject of a switch from metoprolol  to sotalol, here and to my EP.  I understand the effects of an antiarrhythmic drug like sotalol can be nasty.  Last year, the Mayo Clinic in MN suggested metoprolol may be a better choice than carvedilol for me.  Local cardiologists I see were reluctant to make this change until recently.  I've always thought not listening to Mayo's suggestion(s) was a losing proposition.

pacing rate

by barn - 2018-07-04 11:00:31

Doctors:(  I've been told by my doc that i have 100% pacing since i was having drop attacts (a neurological issue) that led to the PM, but then during checkups, the nurses seem to think thats not the case??    Just FYI re the Mayo docs:  they are probably great, but after several days of testing, PET-CTs, ..., diagnosed me with a cancer and wanted to do an entire year of chemo.  I disagreed with the diagnosis and 10 yrs later am just fine:)  

Pacing (DavidH)

by AgentX86 - 2018-07-04 18:21:09

Yes, and no (or maybe).  Your ventricles will be 100% paced but depending on why you needed the AV ablation, you may have a different setup in your pacemaker.  Since they're still mucking around with antiarrhythmics, you're probably proximal AF, so pacemaker is probably operating in DDI (dual ode, both atria and ventricles are paced, Both are sensed, and pacing is inhibited on sense) mode.  In other words, if your pacemaker senses a normal pulse from the SI node, it will time the pulse and then copy it to the ventricle.  However, if it doesn't sense a pulse from the SI node, it will start the pulse (and transmit it to the atrium).  In this mode, you'll still feel the arrhythmia because it'll be still be transmitted to the ventricles, thus the pulse.

The other common mode (mine) is VVI (ventricals paced, ventricals sensed, and inhibit on sense),  In this mode, the atria no longer do anything, since they're totally isolated and the ventricles are paced independently.  Since the ventricles are isolated, there is no longer any need for antiarrhythmics.  The atria are allowed to fibrillate (or flutter) all they want and it doesn't affect the ventricles or the pulse.  The down side is that since the atria and ventricles no longer beat together, the heart is somewhat less efficient.

Sometimes

So, if your pacemaker is in AAI mode, you're probably not 100% paced.