Pounding/Rapid Heart Beats

Hi,

I got a pacemaker on December 14, 2007 after having two episodes of passing out with a very low heart rate (one while driving my car on November 28th). I still haven't been able to go back to work because I feel so lousy (no energy, extremely tired, pounding heart beats, very dizzy). On Saturday I was walking into a store and my heart was racing and I thought I was going to pass out. I immediately went back home and went to sleep for four hours and felt horrible the rest of the day.

I have been wearing an event monitor for the past week. I just talked to the cardiologist and he said that when I recorded the episode on Saturday my heart rate was 105--which he said isn't all that high. I'm beginning to feel like I must be crazy and this is all getting very depressing. The cardiologist said that I do have some irregular heart beats, which he said I've probably always had, but am just more aware of them now. In addition to all of this I am so dizzy and also have autoimmune thyroid disease. So the neurologist has me on Valium for the dizziness and the cardiologist has me on Toprol for the rapid heart beats, both of which probably also contribute to my tiredness. I had a BAER test this morning for the dizziness and will be having an ENG test on Thursday.

I feel like one day I had a good life and then in an instant it was gone and I'm never going to feel good again. I don't have any experience with any of this so I don't know what to expect. Are these feelings normal after getting a pacemaker; I just don't understand why if I needed a pacemaker because my heart rate was so low, do I now feel it beating so fast?

Judy

11 Comments

I know how you feel

by gmnordy - 2008-01-21 01:01:26

I also have the same kind of episodes you have. I am not sure if it is "normal" after having a pacemaker. i have had mine 4 years!
I hate it when the doctors kind of blow you off when you have symptoms. My cardiologist more or less admitted the other day my history is complex and not sure what to do for me! How reasuring!
But you have not had yours long, I think you need to get more rest and take it easy. I know when I first got mine I was so very tired and had lots of things wrong. Plus my heart rate had never been over 50 in my life and they had me set at 65 and I felt so very strange! It takes a while to get used to it all. Take care of yourself, stay hydrated and get plenty of rest!!
Debbi

Tachy-brady

by ela-girl - 2008-01-21 02:01:23

Hi, Judy.

I had my pm implanted almost a year and a half ago now for severe bradycardia (4 beats per minute) and for the syncope. I was blacking out for 4 years with no tests able to catch anything. My old cardio made me feel like I was crazy, but I KNEW I wasn't. Just as I'm sure you are not either! Hang in there. My episodes were happening a lot but were so random to catch. And when you pass out or sometimes get to the point where you might, your body is going through a lot and can take awhile to achieve homeostasis again. My old cardio also put me on Toprol and just kept upping the meds when he didn't know what else to do with me. I'm currently being weaned off to see if I also suffer from SVT (supraventricular tachycadia (fast heart rate)). It IS possible for people to be both tachy-brady but only symptomatic to one. In my case, I was symptomatic to the bradycardia. Perhaps you are suffering the same issues? I'm no doctor but it's just an idea. Have you sought a second opinion? I know have a SUPER EP who really has his act together and helping me to get the answers I seek. Do you currently have an EP? They are better to have than just a 'plain' cardio because they deal with the electrical system of the heart.

I wish you the best. It WILL get better, but you may have to fight for it! As bowlrbob said so perfectly, "It takes a while to get sick and it will take awhile to get better."

Keep us posted!
ela-girl

EP and feeling the pm

by ela-girl - 2008-01-21 02:01:35

An EP is an Electrophysiologist. They are still cardiologists, but they are cardiologists who deal with the electrical function of the heart. They are better equipped to deal with pacemakers, too, since pm's deal with the heart's electrical system.

As far as feeling your pm kick in...some people are mosre sensitive to their pm or are just hyper-focused on it in the beginning. I know I was. If you are going to feel any beat at all, it tends to be the ventricular beat because it is the stronger of the beats. My EP told me this, too. I used to feel it often enough in the beginning but now only once in a blue moon. If your pm is working as it should, though, you shouldn't be feeling anything. It should be quietly doing its job in your chest and that's that.

I hope I've helped a little?! Cheers!
ela-girl

One more thing...

by ela-girl - 2008-01-21 02:01:53

Have you had your pm adjusted yet? It can be a bit of trial and error to get the settings that help your individual self. Most of us come out of surgery with factory settings to make sure the pm is in proper working order before making adjustments.

Just a thought!
ela-girl

Question for ela-girl

by njmercer - 2008-01-21 02:01:55

What is an EP--I've never heard of that? I did have a visit to the Pacemaker Clinic about 10 days ago and they made one adjustment. You know the more I've been thinking about this today, maybe some of what I'm feeling is when the pacemaker is kicking in. Is it normal to feel a strange sort of heartbeat when that happens? When I went to the Pacemaker Clinic they told me that so far the pacemaker is pacing 40% of the time.

Judy

It will get better

by faithman007 - 2008-01-21 03:01:19

Well from one that just had a pm put in on Dec. 4th. You will get better. Trust me when I say that. Cause I really felt the way you do right now. It takes time. Body is just adjusting and yes you might need to get pm adjusted. I am going to doc soon to get that taken care of as well. But I am getting back to normal. I still kinda feel weak at times but alot better than before. Feel free to contact me anytime. This is the best place to get advice and for just friendship with people who have or will have to go through this.

Problems

by SMITTY - 2008-01-21 04:01:37

Hi Judy

My answer to your question “Are these feelings normal after getting a pacemaker” is absolutely not. A properly adjusted pacemaker should give you a more stable heart rhythm and probably make you feel better in the process. A pacemaker does not take over any of your hearts functions unless the heart ceases to do what Mother Nature intended it to do. That function will be your heart’s natural pacemaker is not supplying the electrical impulse to make you heart beat fast enough or regular. In that case a PM will step in and supply the missing electrical impulses and keep your heart beating as it should. Even when the PM is doing that job you should not be aware of the PM making a contribution. If you can feel your PM making your heart beat, then some fine-tuning of the PM is needed.

I did find you comment about you low thyroid interesting. I know for a fact that a low thyroid can produce some of the symptoms you mention because about 45 years ago I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Thyroid disease, although I can’ say for certain it was called that then. I just recall being told that my thyroid was not producing sufficient thyroid hormone to regulate metabolism. Symptoms of the resulting underachieve thyroid usually include some complaint of fatigue or depression, but may include a host of other symptoms, including or muscular and joint pain, excessive weight gain, hair loss, dry and coarse, skin, low blood pressure, high cholesterol and others. A partial list of some of the “others” follows.

I’m not suggesting self-diagnosis, but you might take a look and see if any sound familiar to you.
Slow pulse
Widespread pain
Fatigue
Feeling run down, sluggish
Muscle cramps and pains
Unexplained or excessive weight gain
Inability to lose weight
Gastrointestinal problems Irritable bowel syndrome
Poor sleeping
Headaches and migraines
Constipation
Exhaustion
Depression
Low exercise tolerance
Rashes
Concentration difficulties
Feeling cold Cold in extremities
Husky voice
Eczema, acne, rashes
Difficulty getting a full breath
More frequent yeast infections
Puffiness around the eyes
Low blood pressure
Neck pain/neck aches
While I have no idea what is causing your problems I do not believe it is you pacemaker.

I wish you the best,

Smitty

Thyroid?

by pacergirl - 2008-01-21 11:01:06

May I ask what sort of autoimmune thyroid disease do you have?
I had Graves Disease and that is when my heart issues began. You may already know this but your Thyroid can really make you feel very bad and do all sorts of things to your health.
If you are hypothyroid well it can be just as bad as Graves (hyperthyroid) but just the opposite. I was hyperthyroid then and now, I am hypothyroid after they "fixed" me.
Each one had/has major effects on my heart.
Might I suggest that you have the drs. check closely your thyroid... THS levels. It could be what is causing the problems. It sure effects mine when I miss my thyroid meds.
Good luck,
pacergirl
p.s. Graves disease attacks women much more often than men. Interesting I think.

I can Empathize

by Carol - 2008-01-21 11:01:20

I have experienced many of the same symptoms as you (except for the dizziness). I'm 4 months out at this point. I think that those of us who get our PMs without months or years of feeling lousy have a little harder time adjusting to this change in lifestyle...I for one, don't feel better now...but I'm not giving up hope that I will and neither should you! I am still experiencing pounding heartbeats at times (my body literally reverberates with ea beat), rapid rates (between 110-120 and my doc said the same thing..not THAT fast), and all the rest. (I also have Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia-PM can't help that) I have been persistent with my EP, and have had many adjustments and am feeling some better. I've worn event monitors, Holter, and had stress testing. You're probably in need of some adjusting as well. I recently had my AV delay shortened and this has improved things a good deal (it had been lengthened in an attempt to try to give my heart a chance to catch up on its own...the doctor was trying to help me so as not to pace as often, but in the end just made me feel worse..it really is a trial and error thing for some of us...I certainly don't blame him) Hang in there, you're not crazy....you're just adjusting ! I took a good long time off work as I added in a healthy dose of anxiety over all these new sensations...I don't recommend this...just made things worse. Feel free to private message me anytime and god luck!! Carol

Thanks Everybody for the Info

by njmercer - 2008-01-22 11:01:28

I just want to thank everyone who took the time to read my post and offer some help, advice and support. As far as the thyroid goes, I have underactive and the autoimmune disease I have is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which contributes to slow heart beats--not fast. I am seeing an endocrinologist on a frequent basis in an attempt to get this problem under control. In fact, I had blood tests today to see if it the thyroid condition has improved any since the beginning of December when my thyroid medication dose was tripled and I should have the results back in a couple of days.

Today was the worst with the irregular heart beats--first slow, then fast--and this continued all day. When I transmitted this with the event monitor, they did say that some of the heart beats were fast.

I live near Deborah Heart & Lung Center in New Jersey, which is supposed to be a very good hospital. I'm thinking about making an appointment with a doctor there to get another opinion because I need to get back to work and I just don't believe that I should be feeling the type of heart beats that I'm feeling.

Judy

Pounding beats and thyroid

by Vai - 2008-01-22 12:01:56

I reinforce Pacergirl's comment. I don't have thyroid disease myself but know someone close who have this problem. The symptoms (pounding or ectopic heart beats, dizziness, fatigue, no energy etc) are exactly as you have described. Her heart problems surfaced as a result of the thyroid illness. She was treated for thyroid illness and as soon as they controlled the TSH levels with a drug called carbimasol (maybe wrong spelling), the ectopic beats and ensuing heart problems went away. I suggest you take a further look into the thyroid illness.

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