Newbie daughter - what lies ahead

Hi everyone,

My Dad (68) collapsed one morning in January for about 30 seconds. He was taken into hospital for 2 days of tests but nothing was found.

Last Tuesday he had 4 'episodes' throughout the day; first a weakness, then about 10 seconds of unconsciousness (with his eyes open - I thought it was a stroke), then a collapse for about 30 seconds at which point we called his GP. We were going to wait to go to the ER until the next morning but he lost consciousness (not normal sleeping) after going to bed so we took him straight away.
To cut a long story short it sounds like he had 2 more episodes after we left him in the ER 6 hours later. We were called the next morning to be told he was fine but that he needed a pacemaker as they were able to catch the root cause through rhythm monitors. The permanent pacemaker was inserted on Thursday and he came home on Friday. He didn't have any other symptoms; he is an ex smoker and he is on baby aspirin and medication for cholesterol but it is at acceptable levels at the moment. The only other information I have is that his potassium was low so he was told to eat lots of bananas.

It's great to find this site as I am full of questions and googling like crazy since last week. I don't have a medical term for what is wrong with Dad, except that the pacemaker would fix his issue. It's low rate is set at 60 bpm.

My Mum is a nervous wreck and while I am relaxing very slowly with each day, I am still so afraid of him collapsing again or something more serious. I have gone back to work but my mobile phone never leaves my side.

I'm afraid to ask the question as to whether he could have died. I don't think I want to know.

Have any of you needed a pacemaker for symptoms similar to those above? If so, what has life been like since?

I am very afraid of bad news but I would also like to be as prepared as possible. I don't have brothers and sisters so I feel like the buck stops with me.

God bless you all for this site and your continued good health.

5 Comments

YES

by pete - 2009-03-20 01:03:22

This is the most common route to a pacemaker. He will now be fine as I am fairly sure he only had bradycardia. He is one of the lucky ones. Relax and be thankfull . Cheers Peter

Pacemakers

by pacergirl - 2009-03-20 01:03:27

Hi and welcome.
If your Dad needs a pacemaker then by all means get him one.
My heart was also stopping... then I had a pacemaker implanted to give my heart the information it needed to beat. All I can tell you is that it sure has helped me. My life became livable again! No more fainting, loss of breath and general feeling like %&*p!
Good luck to you and your family...
Pacergirl

guardian angel

by Tracey_E - 2009-03-20 01:03:58

Think of the pm as a guardian angel. It's there to make sure his heart doesn't beat too slowly or pause. It doesn't take over our natural hr and it doesn't beat for us- it just sits back and watches. Any time our hearts don't beat fast enough, the pm steps in and generates a pulse which makes the heart beat. They are truly amazing technology. As the others said, please don't be shy if you have questions. It's always a shock to get one and it takes some time to get used to the idea, but you can relax and know that he is safe now.

Thank you

by soozie - 2009-03-20 03:03:11

Thank you all for the fast and positive responses.

Dad seems to be doing well so far - it is our 1-week anniversary of his coming home from hospital and no episodes to report.

I will keep in touch with this site and maybeI will be able to help others one day the way you have already helped me.

should be OK

by bowlrbob - 2009-03-21 05:03:25

I had almost exactly the same things happen to me except my blackout lasted 3 and 1/2 hours. The next day a pacer was put in and they weren't sure then what caused my problem. They only knew I needed a PM. 6 months later my problem finally manifested it's self. I had NCS some call it VVS. If you don't know what that is just google it and you will see. I also have Bradycardia. The PM works great had it for almost 4 years with no problems. Bowlrbob

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