Pacemaker Club: Thumping from diaphragm on right side of body

Thumping from diaphragm on right side of body

by Pick a Little Lady
2020-10-02 15:32:40
Batteries & Leads
916 views
2 comments

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and what you did to relieve it?

I have had my Pacemaker since May, 2019. The past 6 months I have experienced 'thumping' from

my right side from diaphragm. Saw my cardiologist and he said that a lead was placed to close

to the diaphragm area and that causes that 'thumping' when pace maker is correcting itself. It is

not a life or death matter but just very annoying, so much that I can not sleep on my left side

which seems to bring it on. Has anyone else experienced this? Cardiologist says he can open

up my incision and replace that particular lead and I really don't want to go through that

healing again since I bled so much due to blood thinners. Thank you for your responses.

2 Comments

Diaphragmatic irritation/stimulation

by Gemita - 2020-10-02 17:54:22

Hello Pick a little lady,

I am so sorry to hear about your discomfort with one of your leads. I note that you have already had discussions with your cardiologist about what has happened and what can be done to ease your symptoms. I fully understand your concern to have further surgery due to potential complications, including bleeding risk.

I would go back to the cardiologist and ask what other options are available? I would particularly want to know whether any adjustments to your pacemaker settings could be made without adversely affecting pacing. It maybe that they can adjust your settings so that you will be less aware of your symptoms. This would be worth trying first before you consider going down the surgical route.

I do hope for the very best for you.

DIaphragm pacing

by AgentX86 - 2020-10-03 00:43:46

Unfortunately this is fairly common. The heart is essentially in contact with the heart and sometimes the leads leak some and pace the diahragm. Often this can be taken care of by reducing the pacing voltage but this also reduces the capture margin (lowers the difference between the actual pacing and minium pacing voltage). The results may cause noise problems or intermittent pacing. Your EP may think it's worth cutting into the normal margin or you may have more than the minimum recommended margin to play with. This is something that should be fixed, one way or another.