Pacemaker

Shocks

by Penguin - 2023-10-04 05:08:30

Hi Mark, 

It would be really helpful if you added a bit more detail to your question if you're comfortable doing so. Defibrillators do shock the heart and pacemakers don't in general. However, there are instances when the voltage will increase suddenly and this may feel like a shock. 

As I say, if you add detail it may be easier to explain what might be happening. e.g. What is going on at the time - sleeping, resting, active, exercising, driving over a bumpy road etc. 

Do you have CLS turned on?  This stands for Closed Loop Stimulation and it is a form of rate response.  It 'can' cause problems with surges / increases in rate that some patients report as uncomfortable. The pacemaker may need to be adjusted so that this doesn't happen. 

There are many people with Biotronik devices on this forum. If you add detail you could wait for replies from these people who are very helpful. 

Shocks for slow heart rates??

by Gemita - 2023-10-04 05:55:30

Mark, your Biotronik Evity 8 dual chamber device appears to be a simple pacemaker, not a defibrillator.  A defibrillator would mainly shock the heart for a fast, dangerous arrhythmia like ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, for example.  They are preprogramed to automatically detect cardiac arrest or a life-threatening arrhythmia. They then send a high-energy electric charge to stop the arrhythmia or restart the heart after cardiac arrest.  But I don’t believe we are talking about a life threatening arrhythmia in your case though are we?

Any slow heart beat that you are experiencing should be corrected by your pacemaker kicking in if your heart rate falls below your lower rate limit (if that is what you mean by shocking you if your own heart slows up)?  

I see from your history that many members have tried to answer your questions in the past about slow heart beats and your medication.  Did that help?   I see you are on a cocktail of meds, have had open heart surgery, an ablation, so I am not altogether surprised that you continue to have rhythm disturbances.  I would discuss your symptoms with your cardiac team again since you appear to be so troubled by them.  They, together with your general doctor might want to carry out some additional checks (like thyroid function, electrolytes, glucose levels).  It is miserable coping with a slow heart rate.  Have they tried raising your lower rate limit setting by chance?

Shocks

by H van Dyk - 2023-10-04 07:33:39

I took the liberty of downloading the medical instruction manual. As far as I can see, you have a 'simple' pacemaker (just like me). It would help the forum if you could provide a little more detail / information concerning your problems.

Back up Pulse

by Penguin - 2023-10-04 07:58:54

My own device delivers a back up pulse (around 5mv) in certain situations. 

Whether or not the Biotronik device delivers anything like this I don't know and whether or not it can be felt when it happens I don't know.