New PM Implantee

• by Piparskeggr
• 2008-06-05 09:06:25
• General Posting
• 1118 views
• 2 comments

Good day all and good health;

On 4/16/2008 I had a Medtronics dual lead pacemaker implanted.

I was suffering from asymptomatic syncope, which occcured shortly after I awoke.

The first, notable episodes occurred this past January: awoke at 4:30 AM, sat up, turned off the alarm, woke up again face down on the carpet within a minute.

I had a complete physical, plus stress test and ultrasound EKG; situation completely normal, save mildly high blood pressure. Doc decided to prescribe losing some weight, a low dosage antihypertensive and to keep an eye on things.

All seemed to be going well.

15 April, I get up fine and am reading emails before work. I black out, wake up and tell my wife of the recurrence, as we're talking I'm down again within 10 minutes. Off to my doctor, who sends me on to the emergency room.

More testing, including heart monitor, x-rays, blood work...all normal...admitted to CCU for overnight monitoring.

I fell asleep about 8 PM. Between then and being awakened by the overnight attending just after 2 AM, I went into Sinus Arrest 9 times, with 4 being between 15 and 28 seconds. I restarted without intervention each time. He told me that the recommendation would likely be a pacemaker once the cardiologist reviewed the records.

Tha cardiologist came in at 5:30 AM and did indeed recommend such a course, especially as I had arrested twice more. He called them sinus arrests with asystole. Apparantly (from looking at an EKG trace the nurse gave me) the heart beats normally, then goes slack, then beats anew.

I called my wife, she joined me about 9, I was in the ready room by 10, on the table by 10:30 and in recovery by 12:30. I was up and walking by 6 PM, and home by 1 PM the next day. After scans showed no heart damage or blockages.

I was back to work 2 days shy of 3 weeks afterwards; I should have taken the 4 weeks.

At 6 weeks, the readings showed that I was nicely healed and responding. The device is atrial pacing about 7% of the time and ventrically just under 2%.

No more black outs, I sleep better (wife says I don't snore as loud) and am generally feeling fine.

I look forward to ready others' stories, maybe finding an idea about my own condition, which the doctor thinks may be a congenital defect rearing its head as I passed the half century mark last year.

a few pennies worth - Steven