anxiety? or a problem?

my husband got his pacer 6 months ago at 37 its been a real change in our life. im not speaking for him but i can tell its on his mind all the time. He went into complete heart block with no known cause and thats been hard not knowing why it happened or if its going to get worse. He just spent 2 days in the hospital,he went in with his B/P 180/116 his pulse 120, they seem to think its anxiety, ? He says he feels dizzy and a warm feeling in his chest/side when these episodes happen the nurse said she could see on the monitor at the times he had them that his heart was going from pacing with the pacemaker and then taking a beat by its self? now he is getting concerned that he cant tell if something is wrong or if it is really anxiety? any comments would be helpful! thanks

3 Comments

blocks

by Tracey_E - 2009-01-04 10:01:55

The anxiety is perfectly normal!!!! Everyone goes through it to some extent. It's an emotional blow to go from completely healthy to knowing your heart isn't working the way it should. It should ease with time. If you see signs of depression- more than just a bit anxious or blue from time to time- please encourage him to get help.

Infection is usually what causes blocks that come on suddenly. I have a complete block also, but I was born with mine. It's just an electrical signal that isn't there. As heart problems go, this is the best kind to have because it means our hearts are structurally just fine and our natural pacemaker (SA node in the atria) works normally, we just need the pm to make the connection where our hearts have a short circuit. The pm pretty much cures us.

It's normal for the pm to work off and on. Think of it as a watchdog. It never takes over, it just steps in and helps when it's needed. Our atria beat normally with complete block, so it makes the signal to beat just like everyone else. The pm monitors that signal and waits for the ventricle to follow, it only steps in and gives the impulse to beat after giving the heart a chance to beat on its own.

Please feel free to ask your questions here or send me a private message if you'd like to chat more. Or encourage your husband to come say hi! We're all just normal people here. I've had my pm since I was 27, I'm 42 now. I am active and healthy and most people who know me have no idea that a chunk of titanium helps my heart beat. It's a lot to get used to, but it's possible to adjust and get to the point where you go days or even weeks without giving it a thought.

Anxiety

by ElectricFrank - 2009-01-05 01:01:09

Tracey pretty much covered it. Infection of some sort seems to be the most common cause of AV block. Because of this it comes on suddenly. In my case I woke up feeling lousy and fatigued. I checked my BP and found my HR had dropped to 40BPM and didn't respond to exercise. I knew then that a pacemaker was in the cards and 2 days later had it implanted. After a few weeks of getting it set to match my needs I have felt great for 4 years.

My opinion is that anxiety causes a large part of the uncomfortable symptoms we have. The doctors don't help in this regard with all their dire warnings. Two important things: first the term "heart block" sounds ominous and is easy for most people to confuse with blocked arteries and impending heart attack. I feel like the cardiologists use the term to scare us into complying with their orders. The correct term is AV Node Block and simply means there is a broken nerve connection between the upper and lower chambers of the heart. The pacemaker easily wires around the problem. As Tracey mentioned this is one of the easiest problems for the pacemaker to deal with.

The second important thing is for you and your husband to talk openly about both of your fears. There is nothing worse than the loneliness of two people who are worried, but afraid to be honest about it. The night my AV block happened the ER was backed up with people with the flu. My wife and I decided we didn't need to add the flu to my cardiac issues so went home. We talked openly about how she should deal with it if she found me unconscious or dead during the night. We set an alarm every hour so I could check my pulse to see if things were getting worse. We both got a good nights sleep between alarms.

I tell you all this to give some idea of the power of dealing with anxiety and fear openly.

good luck,

frank

what's normal

by Tracey_E - 2009-01-05 01:01:18

Cabg, shhhh!!!! I was trying to pass us both off as normal. Now you went and gave us away.

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