Am I going mad?

I've had my ela pacemaker for about six years. A few weeks ago I was told the battery was running down and that I need a replacement within 8 weeks. At that time i had absolutely no symptoms. About two weeks later I started getting lots of palpitations, felt absolutely exhausted all the time and began to get short of breath on minimal exertion. The pacing technician that these symptoms wouldn't be to do with the pm because the need to change is always spotted months in advance of becoming symptomatic. At pre-clerking yesterday I consented to change of dual chamber pacemaker/flat battery. Am I imagining the symptoms or what? Anyone else experienced what I am feeling? The medics don't seem to believe me.

5 Comments

Story lines

by ElectricFrank - 2008-04-12 10:04:34

The medicos seem to make up stories for their own convenience. If the docs surgical schedule is busy or he/she wants to go on vacation you have plenty of time for a replacement. If the doc needs to fill a surgical slot it is suddenly urgent and life threatening.

According to the manual for my Medronics Kappa 701, when battery voltage reaches a minimum threshold level the Elective Replacement Indicator is set which changes pacing to a fixed 65BPM rate with ventricle only pacing. The pacemaker must be replaced within 3 months when the ERI is set.

Now this is an interesting situation. For anyone mildly active a fixed 65BPM is not satisfactory. I don't intend to put up with it when mine reaches that state. In fact I don't intend to let it get into that state. With telephone monitoring there is no reason mine can't be checked weekly and when the battery voltage reaches threshold schedule a replacement.

frankl

Low Battery

by heckboy - 2008-04-12 11:04:37

I knew my PM was running low and at a certain point, my EP asked for checks every month instead of every six months. One day at the gym, I could tell that my PM wasn't working correctly as I couldn't run my usual warm-up. What is was was my PM going into safe mode to preserve battery life. It was keeping my minimums going, but not responding to increased demand. Maybe yours did something similar and the result was your symptoms.

Conduction system pacing

by Terry - 2008-04-12 12:04:53

Hi; you realy should ask your EP about His bundel pacing and not to bypass it if it is functoinal. Here’s why:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/288/24/3115?ijkey=fc54101eeb36560b8f5865583bbdd2
a50bd26de4&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

or, check this out:
http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/abstract/47/2/282?ck=nck


Want more evidence or a referral to someone who does His bundle pacing, just let me know in a private message

Terry

Ela

by Blueaustralia - 2008-04-13 06:04:25

Hi

You have answered the question I have been wondering. I have an Ela symphony dual lead pm. I am pacing 100 percent. I got my pm in Sept 04. No one seems to know how long an Ela battery lasts as this model has only recently become the government contract here . I was given the Ela because as my Tech said. I was so active. It was the best on the market when I got it. I hope my battery lasts longer but am glad to have your information and will certainly start questioning in a couple of years time. The answer is also the same when I query it. "O plenty of battery left."
Hope all goes well. Sincerely Billie

episodic symptoms

by PreciousDays - 2008-04-14 07:04:09

I have had my biventricular beastie for better than six months now - about three months ago - at a time of extreme stress - I became increasingly symptomatic. Fatigued, racing heart (I have cardiomyopathy with a normal resting pulse of 80-120) - breathless as could be. It last three weeks - at one point the cardiologist said I was in acute heart failure - added all sorts of meds to my body - dehydrated me and dropped my bp to undetectable. Amazingly enough - when I came out of that - and the unbearable stress of expecting to be fired came to fruition - I returned to my normal level of post pm being. My doc says I had "a virus or something" - no real answers. I lived. - whether it was because of - or inspite of - the medical care - I couldn't honestly say. Your symptoms are real. The stress may be exacerbating things - or something else that no one has identified yet may be influencing things. Good luck with the replacement - and remember two things - As noted above - the urgency for our surgery depends on the docs schedule and car payment - and - we will never really know the truth about treatment expectations until the insurance check has cleared. Be well and hang in there. PD

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