Elevation and heights

Hello everyone,

This is in behalf of my mother who had a dual st judes pacemaker inserted in December 2022. The issue is that she feels out of breath when she is brisk walking on elevated roads and this particular one is quite elevated. When she walks on slightly elevated or almost flat surfaces she feels fine, the elevation seems to be the issue with SOB. We consulted the doctor and weirdly she gave a medicine for high BP which also reduces sodium levels and her sodium levels are already a tad bit low (Dytor) even when she has absolutely fine BP. (110/75). She also suggested a medicine to reduce the heart rate which we are reluctant as its supposed to make people drowsy. I am really unsure, can anyone please share their knowledge on this, would really appreciate it. :)

2 Comments

Dyator

by AgentX86 - 2023-06-14 11:24:51

Dyator is a diuretic, a sister to ferosomide (Lasix) apparently, normally used to decrease edema. Yes, it can have the side-effects that you describe.  Does it affect your mother? Not all people have the same problems.  Does she have edema?  Kidney dysfunction and heart failure cause fluid retention. It's sometimes a balancing act between the heart and kidneys.  If in doubt, changes in medications should be questioned.  There is no reason to be defensive, just ask why, what's the downside, and what side-effects to look out for. These are innocent questions that the doctor should be willing to answer.  It really shows that she's taking an active role in her treatments.  It is a good thing that she is proactive and it's a good thing that she even shows it.

By "elevated" do you mean "a steep angle"?

by LondonAndy - 2023-06-18 18:42:41

To me, elevated is high altitude, such as up a mountain, where thin air can cause SOB of course.

So if it is because of a steep angle, I wonder if her device's rate response needs adjustment? It may not be picking up the vertical movement enough.

You know you're wired when...

You have the perfect reason to show off your chest.

Member Quotes

The pacer systems are really very reliable. The main problem is the incompetent programming of them. If yours is working well for you, get on with life and enjoy it. You probably are more at risk of problems with a valve job than the pacer.