Overdue Introduction

Hi all. I realized in my excitment of posting messages (and spending hours reading other's postings) that I had not introduced myself to the group. My name is John and I'm in Madison, Wisconsin. I'm 40 had my pacemaker installed 3 weeks ago. So far, so good. I'm curious if people know how much they are pacing? The tech says I'm pacing around 88 percent in my ventricle....sounds rather high to me.

Alas, I'm happy to be here although a month ago I would have said: "A pace what?".

Thanks for all the excellent information and interesting reading.

7 Comments

Overdue intro

by MHCHAMPION - 2008-06-04 11:06:35

Hi and welcome to the group.

This is a wonderful place to learn about our PMs.
My paces at 50 per cent. Most likely the amount of pacing depends on the condition of the individual hearts.

Keep on pacing,
Margaret

pacing.

by tpod - 2008-06-05 01:06:54

hi, john.
99% with a single lead to the atria here.
catheter ablation in twelve days. nervy, but excited. amanda says i'll feel better.
i choose to believe her! :)

welcome aboard. we're awake, and it's a new day. what more could we ask for?

amy

Depends

by TwoCents - 2008-06-05 04:06:31

The percentage of pacing depends on the medical condition for which your pacemaker was implanted. Many people here have heart block to one degree or another. Some have Sick Sinus Syndrome and others have bradycardia (low heart rate). I personally pace 100% of the time in the atrium and currently about 12% in the ventricle. It's worth noting that I did pace around 40% in the ventricle, but due to concerns about excessive ventricle pacing my settings were changed which lowered the percentage. Richard gives good advice about asking for a copy of your printout from your pacemaker interrogations. I carry my printouts with me when I travel which on one occasion has proved valuable when I had a problem in a strange location. Finding this site is a great step in educating yourself so that you and your little "electrial buddy" can have a friendly relationship. It's always nice to travel with a friend. Two Cents

Pacing

by richan - 2008-06-05 06:06:22

Hi John,
I'm Richard from Ann Arbor, MI. Good to have you among our ranks. Clearly, we are a growing organization. Like both Margaret and Sharon have said, there are a lot of variables that determine how much we are dependent on our PMs. On my last visit with my PM tech, I was 100% dependent on my top half and 60% dependent on my bottom half.
My PM joined me in March of 2005 - it has made a difference for me.
If your PM tech doesn't give you your print-out, please ask for it. It has a lot of information (most of which I don't have a clue about) that you can carry with you when you are traveling.
I hope that things go well for you. Every day is a great day.

Richard

Welcome to the club

by Pookie - 2008-06-05 08:06:39

Hi,

Welcome to the club. You are in the right spot. this site is amazing.

and check out the chat room, upper left hand side of main screen.

oh, and I pace 30% in the upper chamber only. have had my pacemaker since April of 2005.

Pookie

pacing

by aldeer - 2008-06-05 11:06:20

99.7% with single lead to ventricle. Atrium blocked out with avnode ablation. Welcome to a great club. You will learn a lot here and get many questions answered. aldeer

All different

by auntiesamm - 2008-06-05 12:06:23

Welcome to the Pacemaker Club. Fortunate for you to have found us. You'll get lots of support, nurturing and most important information about cardiac devices. I have had my PM for 2 years and pace 100% in the ventricle and 64% in the atrium. But, each of us is different in just about every way. You will likely get several responses to your post to answer your question. Good luck and God bless you.

Sharon (So Calif)

You know you're wired when...

You have a maintenance schedule just like your car.

Member Quotes

As for my pacemaker (almost 7 years old) I like to think of it in the terms of the old Timex commercial - takes a licking and keeps on ticking.