How often is the 'norm' for a pacemaker test?

I have not been for a pacemaker test for nearly twelve months, I am having one in May, but I have had several 'episodes' of rapid heartbeat and weakness over the year which will probably not be recorded.
I am not on any medication, apart from half aspirin every other day.

I had my pacemaker January 2008, I do not see a cardiologist anymore so wondered if anything was not quite right how would I know !!!

7 Comments

Thanks

by Tessy - 2010-03-14 05:03:48

The Cardiologist said he doesn't need to see me again, and that if I had an 'episode' to just go up to the hospital for an ECG. I will check with the Pacing Clinic when I next go to see what they have to say about this, as I am not sure if our General Practitioners have the same knowledge as Cardiologists.

Thanks for your reply anyway.

Don't be worried...

by Charli - 2010-03-14 08:03:40

The general time to see a cardiologist is every year, though mine likes to see me every six months to check how the resistance of the wires are and how much battery I have left. You shouldn't be worried if your pacemaker is doing what it's supposed to.

frequency

by Tracey_E - 2010-03-14 09:03:05

Some go every three months, some go once a year. You should definitely be seen at least once a year, both by the technician who can check the pm and the cardiologist.

Frank

by Tessy - 2010-03-15 09:03:55

Pacing Clinic/Checkups - on my record card it has Pacing Clinic. The only problem I have is every month or so I have an episode of rapid heartbeat and irregular heartbeat. I am not on medication as I could not get on with the Beta Blockers I was prescribed. I seem to be getting these episodes more frequently the last few months. I expect if there was a problem the checkup would show something that needs attending to. Not sure how long the memory is on the Pacemaker though. I can handle the episodes - I just lie down. I was collecting my grand daughter from school last week and suddenly had an episode which is a bit worrying.

The sad reality

by ElectricFrank - 2010-03-15 11:03:25

For all of us it is our responsibility to make sure our problems are being looked at. The only way to be noticed is to be aggressive.

As far as the amount of information that the pacer can store in its memory, it depends on how many functions are being monitored. A simple date an description of and event takes very little memory, but doesn't tell much about what happened. A waveform strip uses a lot of memory and gives a much more complete record of what happened.

Also, things are constantly changing so events from 6 months age may not be important today.

And then there is the thing where episodes that feel ominous may not be serious at all, and the ones that are serious hardly noticeable. When I experienced a loss of pacing capture a couple of years ago I was skipping 4-5 beats in a row. If I hadn't been checking my pulse I wouldn't have noticed it. Then there are the runs of PVC's that feel terrible and aren't serious at all.

wish I was more help,

frank

Pacing Clinic

by ElectricFrank - 2010-03-15 12:03:50

You mention going to the Pacing Clinic. This would seem to be what most of us refer to as checkups. Do they connect you to a computer and check your settings?

Once the implant has healed there is no reason to have regular checkups with a cardiologist unless you have some heart condition that requires it.

frank

Frank

by Tessy - 2010-03-17 06:03:07

Thanks

You know you're wired when...

You have a 25 year mortgage on your device.

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Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.