Do,s and Donts ?

Hi All new here , I,m getting a pacemaker in 2 weeks and have some minor(major Concerns) 1/- 6 weeks after fitting the specilist says he will be cutting sinoartial nerve making me totally reliant on pacemaker is this normal
2/- My hobby is flying these remote control aeroplanes and I,ve read that with these radios its a No No is this correct ,something to do with the transmitter and the pacemaker or has tecnolgy been improved thanks for your help if you can help prrj@clear.net.nz thanks Paul

4 Comments

Why

by Bill-2 - 2008-08-27 08:08:26

I have read hundreds of postings on here and you are the first I have seen saying their doctor is cutting the sinoatrial nerve. So based on that I have to say cutting this nerve is not common even if it is normal.

My question is why are they cutting the sinoatrial nerve. Or a better question is why are you getting a pacemaker. IF IT WERE ME and I know it is not, unless it was a life and death situation no one would ever voluntarily make me 100% dependant on a pacemaker.

We have a member, named Peter, whose hobby is radio controlled airplanes. I'm sure you will hear from him. You can got to the Member Gallery (upper left on the Home Page) and see Peter with some of his planes.

Have to agree

by Carol - 2008-08-27 09:08:59

I too would have to agree with the above post....of course, not knowing your diagnosis and reason for getting a Pacemaker I won't pass judgement on your physician's plan to do this BUT I must say that it is NOT the norm to have the sino-atrial node destroyed. I know of instances in which the SA Node (I think this is what you are referring to) has been destroyed during some ablation procedures and then a patient will require a PM and be totally dependent. I guess the bottom line is ask more questions to find out why in your case this is necessary....then PLEASE let us know. Best wishes, Carol

Me too

by ElectricFrank - 2008-08-28 01:08:19

Before you have something drastic and irreversible done, be sure it is necessary. There have been a number of people on this site who have had ablations and wished they hadn't. There is no way of going back once it is done. Look at it this way..would you let a doctor say "Oh by the way I'm going to amputate your leg in a week or 2" and just say "yes sir"?
Unfortunately, there are plenty of docs out there with little idea of what they are doing with the heart. (there are also good ones).
Now, as for the radio controlled models, there shouldn't be any problem. The transmitters are low power and modern pacemakers aren't particularly sensitive. I have tested 5 watt hand held CB transmitters held to my ear on the pacemaker side with no effect. Just keep in mind people with pacemakers drive or walk near AM/FM radio towers with several thousand watt transmitters all the time.

frank

Always get a 2nd opinion. ALWAYS

by Angelie - 2008-08-28 09:08:32

I'm 33 years old and have had heart problems all of my life- getting really bad the last few years and have tried every imaginable drug that there is to try- all during the last 7 years.
My doc and I tossed ablating my AV node (what sends the electrical signal from the top chambers to the bottom chambers) This would have left me 100% pacer dependent. My doctor ( I love him to death) forced me to get a 2nd opinion just to make sure that he wasn't missing anything. While I was in the hospital trying Tikosyn, I had my second opinion visit with another EP doc. Together (me, the 2 EP docs, and my cardiologist back home- I was four hours away) we decided the best thing for now is a single lead paced in the atrium. In the event that this method doesn't work, the pacemaker that they inserted is capable of accommodating another lead, and is rate responsive. Right now, I'm doing fine 2 weeks post-op. I feel wonderful knowing that we all chose the lesser scenario for now. If this doesn't work, than they can always go back in, ablate, and add another lead. At least by that time, maybe, I'll be just a little bit older. I would try to hold off on being 100% pacer dependent for as long as you possibly can. Try to keep what you've got inside your heart working naturally for as long as you've got it. My 2 week post-op pacer check, I was actually surprised that I'm being paced 37% of the time, but hey, at least that's better than 100%, and at least this pacer has been there for me so far for me when I needed it that 37%.
Hope this helps you out somewhat. I found this site a wonderful help before I got my pacemaker too. Do all you can to learn about them before you get one. It'll help out a lot. I love this site. By the time the docs added me to the surgery schedule, I already knew all about it, and it wasn't a big deal come surgery time. Coming here for support before my pacer actually allowed me to have FUN during my implant procedure.
Good luck,
Angelie

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