Minimum PM setting

Hi:

I have noticed lately that I'm tiring more easily, and seem to have some of the symptoms from before I had my PM. It seems like even walking from one end of my buidling at work to the other is a major effort.

I went to see my cardio and they did an echo and adenosine stress test and all was ok....however the last few days my pulse is staying at 60, which is the low end setting for my PM.

Could that indicate that I need to see my EP for programming my PM? Even though I've had an increase in my BP meds and cholesterol meds, I don't think these are connected.

Also, could weight gain make the PM work less effectively, meaning, are they originally programmed based on body weight?

I hope this makes sense...thanks for any feedback.

Steve

3 Comments

feeling good

by Tracey_E - 2009-05-18 08:05:37

Why did you get them pm? If you're not going above the minimum, you could need your settings or your meds adjusted. Are you on beta blockers? They will hold your hr down. If you have an atrial problem such as SSS, you might need the sensitivity of your rate response turned up.

Weight gain doesn't make the pm work less effectively, but it puts a lot more stress on the heart and makes it work less effectively. Some meds will cause weight gain. But no, the settings have nothing to do with your weight, it's all determined by how your heart beats.

If walking makes you too tired and your hr is not going up, stop doing it until they figure out why. Feeling tired and sob is a sign that your body needs more oxygen. Your hr is not going up enough to provide it, so it's hard on your body being oxygen-deprived.

When you did the stress test, did your rate go up? That's sort of the point of a stress test, to see what happens when you exercise, and they usually keep you going until you hit a target rate. Sometimes it helps to do a regular stress test on a treadmill, and do it while hooked up to the pm computer, then they can see exactly what your heart and pm are doing when you exert.

Minimum PM Setting

by BOB 1 - 2009-05-18 12:05:41

Steve

I doubt that your pacemaker cares how much you weigh. It is an electronic programmed to help your heart do certian things at certain times and your weight is not a factor for it. However, weight is definitely a factor when it comes to your heart function. The more you weigh the more tissue it has to keep blood flow going to and that increases its work load which can result in your feeling tired and being short of breath.

Just guessing, but I would almost bet that you rare taking a BP medicine that causes your heart rate to slow down and the pacemaker is having to keep it from going well below the 60 you have for a low setting. In addition to slowing your heart rate some heart or BP meds (beta blockers in particular) can also make you feel very tired.

See your EP and talk about an increase in your low setting. He may have very good reasons for that setting so I can't say an increase is just what you need. Also, talk to the Dr. that gave you the BP meds and see if that could be causing your difficulty.

One other thing, if you have a PM with rate response, see if it is activated. If it is that should increase your heart rate when you exercise

Bob

Slow HR

by ElectricFrank - 2009-05-19 01:05:04

If you HR stays at 60 regardless of exercise level you need to have the pacemaker checked. It is possible that for some reason it has reset to fail safe mode. In this mode all the advanced features are turned off and you are paced at a fixed rate. This is usually somewhere between 60-75 depending on the model of pacer.

frank

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Your pacemaker interferes with your electronic scale.

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