Ablation left me with zero pulse!!! I am completely dependent on my pacemaker!

You're Not Dead Yet!

by NiceNiecey - 2018-09-25 19:10:03

Hi Tony.

Slow down on that attorney stuff!  Here's my guess: communication problems.  I suspect you went in for an ablation and woke up with a pacemaker because the procedure didn't work.  So you no longer have a functioning sinus node.

Join the club on being PM dependent.  Usually, when our devices are checked, the doctor will drop the heart rate to 30 BPM.  God has designed us with a "backup" pacing system and it refers to "escape rhythms" that are supposed to kick in when our normal beat (or PM-induced beat) doesn't.  Some of us are "special" and we don't have escape rhythms - at least not at 30 BPM. (If they drop us lower than 30, we're going to faint right off the table; I nearly have.)

The technician at my cardiology office says she's extra careful with those of us that are PM dependent.  

I'm curious if your battery is really that depleted. What's their guesstimate on your remaining battery life? So much depends on the settings and your voltage. I'm paced every beat but require very little voltage to get the job done. I'm on track to get a new device in another 2 or 3 years, making for a total of 7-8 years on my first device.  I think that's pretty typical.

The definitions below might help you understand what your new doctor told you.  My original cardiologist is a terrific doctor but he never used the words "PM dependent" with me either.  He said I didn't have escape rhythms but it was lost on me.  I changed cardiology offices and my new doctor said the same thing.  That sent me looking online for what it meant and reading here at "The Club" for more information.  

BTW, my husband and I love the Phlippines, too.  The people are so wonderful.

From the internet:

Sinus rhythm refers to the rhythm of your heart beat, determined by the sinus node of your heart. The sinus node creates an electrical pulse that travels through your heart muscle, causing it to contract, or beat. You can think of the sinus node as a natural pacemaker.

In general, pacemaker-dependent patients have inadequate or even absent intrinsic rhythm and therefore can suffer significant symptoms or cardiac arrest after cessation ofpacing.

So?

by AgentX86 - 2018-09-25 21:56:44

I'm pacemaker dependent too and still on the green side of the dirt.  Great, ain't it! 

BTW, what sort of ablation?  AV node ablation?  That's the only ablation I can think of that would require a pacemaker.  If so, well of course you're pacemaker dependent. That's part of the deal.  Perhaps you didn't understand your EP at the time.

Tony

by IAN MC - 2018-09-26 05:14:05

I was FAR MORE WORRIED when I was 100 % dependent on my heart before I had a pacemaker fitted.

Being 100% dependent on something is only bad news if that "something"  is unreliable !

Ian

dependent

by Tracey_E - 2018-09-27 10:01:18

Ending up with a pacemaker is always a risk of ablation. You probably signed something to that effect.

If you don't have a natural rate right after the ablation, it's highly likely it will come back as the heart heals. It won't be fast enough that you won't need the pacer, but there is almost always some small escape rhythm after healing. Doesn't much matter, tho, because pacers are dependable and being dependent isn't as bad as it sounds. Many of us here pace every beat, have done so for years with no ill effects. Have you flown in a plane or driven a car recently? Your life was dependent on computers then, too, and much bigger ones with a lot more things that can go wrong. As Ian said, being dependentis only a bad thing if it's unreliable. Pacers are very very reliable.