It's me again...

Hello again. I just posted a message yesterday about HARD heartbeats. Well, last night while trying to relax with my husband I got to feeling really bad. I checked my b/p which was okay but then my pulse was a different story altogether. It was a low 43!! I wasn't for sure what my setting was on my pacemaker but I knew it wasn't 40 or so. I called the clinic this morning and they told me it was set for 60 for the low and 120 for the high. I am waiting for them to call back and tell me what to do. I checked again a few minutes ago and it was 37!! My b/p was 88/65. How can my b/p stay up even THAT much while my pulse is so low? My body is so weird :( What is going on???

Pacie

7 Comments

program

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-10 03:02:43

If you're hr is that far below your minimum, they need to check your settings and verify that your leads and pm are both working as they should. Like, now. If they don't call you back, keep calling them and be a pest. If you are in the 30's and feel bad, go to the ER.

Your bp can still be ok with a low hr.

They called

by pacie - 2009-02-10 05:02:24

The office called and gave me a phone check and told me to go in to the office tomorrow at 2:30. They wanted to know how I was checking my pulse. I told them with my two fingers AND with my bp monitor. She said that the phone check looked okay but she still wanted me to come in so she can interrogate my pacemaker and make sure the settings are okay. I have one lead that is looped. Is there a chance that it could break? I don't know much about stuff like that. I do know that when they talk about those things they act like it would take quite an act to do any damage to them. Thanks for the answers.

Pacie

leads

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-10 06:02:05

I doubt if a looped lead would break. Kink, maybe, if the loop is tight enough.

Glad to hear they're seeing you tomorrow! Let us know how it goes.

how'd it go?

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-11 08:02:04

Wondering how your appointment went!

Sorry...

by pacie - 2009-02-12 03:02:11

I'm sorry I took so long to reply. I haven't felt like getting on my computer (now THAT'S bad:)). My tech told me that when they done the phone check, I was in Afib. I stayed in it the whole time I was there yesterday. My pulse was fluctuating from 60 to 130 beats in a few seconds. She said that was why I was feeling so bad. I asked her about my pulse being so low when I checked it myself and she said that some of them are so faint that they are not palaple (sp?). She said that my pacemaker was fine but the Afib wasn't. They called my EP and he wants me to come in next tuesday the 17th. He also told me to drop the Metropolol and up my Flecainide to 100 mg. twice a day. There is so much going on inside my heart right now, I would explain it to you, TraceyE, but it would probably bore you to tears. Thank you very much for asking though...it means a lot.

Pacie

diagnosis

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-13 05:02:39

Well, at least you know what it is so now you can find a way to fix it. I find it frustrating when I know something is wrong and they can't find it! You probably weren't feeling the faster rate because (depending on how you use your pm) the pm won't let your pulse get that high when you fib. They have safety mechanisms that put us into a block and keep our hr at a normal rate even if the atria is going nuts. Good luck getting it straightened out!

And I wouldn't be bored, if you want get it out I'm happy to listen. ;o)

WPW

by pacie - 2009-02-13 11:02:49

I think the reason why it is worrying me so much is because he explained to me that during the first ablation for my WPW the EP that was treating me at that time ablated the wrong area (AV Node), thinking that was the trouble spot and therefore lead me to complete heart block and a pacemaker. The new EP I am seeing done a study and found that my problems were in the other side of my heart. He found 2 problem areas with one of them being an accessory path known as wpw. Even with my av node being blocked, some of the rapid pulses are getting down the extra pathway that I have and they are trying me on several different medicines to no avail. I am stuck right now in afib and he just called me a minute ago to try yet another medicine along with my flecinaide to see if it will slow down the rate. He said that he simply hates to ablate the areas right now cause I would be 100% dependent on my pacemaker and he feels like I am too young right now. He wants to wait until I am at least 60 years old to do it but the medicine is simply not working, so I'm afraid when I go in Tuesday that he is gonna have to make the decision to do it anyway. I have read in some articles that it is very dangerous for a person with wpw to have afib, I wonder if this is true? It was a ligit site, not some bogus stuff. I am hurting in my left back shoulder blade area and sometimes in my left side. Do you think that is because it has been beating fast for so long that it is making me sore? My legs are weak as well. Thanks for caring, TraceyE.

Pacie

You know you're wired when...

Your old device becomes a paper weight for your desk.

Member Quotes

Today I explained everything to my doctor, he set my lower rate back to 80 and I felt an immediate improvement.