Most Recent Messages in Checkups & Settings

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frozen shoulder

Hi everyone,
well I just got a checkup after my surgery on Wednesday, I got the stitches taken out and the dr. said I am healing very fast. However for the past 2 days I have been experiencing extreme pain in ly left shoulder and neck. I learned from my Dr. that it is Frozen shoulder. I was told by many Drs and Nurses after my surgery not to move my left arm that much, so I followed exactly what they said. When I saw my Cardiologist today,he said to move the arm slightly below the shoul...

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Hysteresis, one more point

I looked up Hysteresis to further clarify points already made. Hysteresis means "delay", in this case, delaying pacing to maximize the hearts own ability to beat.

For instance, if the lower rate is set to 75, then the hysteresis rate would be 65 or 70 to allow the heart to take over functioning on its own, if it can.

Hope that clarifies the issue further.

Warmly,
Barbara Blocker

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What is Hysteresis mode?

I got my pacemaker in April 2001. I was constantly in bradycardia and had vaso-vagal Syncope and Orthostatic hypotension with dizziness, vertigo and lost of consciousness. Since then I feel much better, but unfortunately those symptoms did not disappear. My lower rate was set at 40, the ADL at 95 and the upper rate at 140. After 1 year the lower rate was changed to 60 and the upper rate to 120. Today I had a new checkup and the PM was switched to hysteresis mode on.
Can you tell me what is...

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Question about rate responsiveness

Hi,
Maggie, my Border Collie, just got her PM implanted on Tuesday. It is her second generator. Anyway, I take her heart rate a minute or two after a short walk and it is down to 65 or 70 bpm. That is the bottom of her range. How fast does your PM slow down after activity is over? Is it a pretty rapid transition? Her "normal" dog rate should be around 95bpm.

I'm just wondering if we have a problem with her setting.
Thanks,
Lori

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Pacemaker Clinic

Recently I changed Cardiologist. My doctor was great but his staff was so horrible I felt like cattle.

The new doctor is great as well as staff, however the Pacemaker monitoring service "PDS" called me to set up new service. I asked about my semi-annual check up and she said, oh no we don't do that. I asked who did and she said "I don't know"

She said that "new" patients were monitored every month for the first year after implant and after that it was every two months....

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Back from my PM check

Just an update.....

Had my PM check today. I have approximately 1 1/2 years of life left. I thought for sure my battery was almost dead because I am having more symptoms. Not too bad, but I wish it would have lasted a little longer. Everything went well, except I had approx. 635,000 PAC's and 1.2 million PVC's, but it has been over a period of about 9-10 months. I thought this thing was suppose to help eliminate those, because they DRIVE ME NUTS! Oh well, I see my EP doctor in J...

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Remote interrogation - Guidant

Hi Everyone - Those of you with Guidant pacemakers like me I have a question for you. Did any of you receive an unsolicited remote interrogation setup from Guidant. Yesterday I talked to a good friend who lives about 20 miles from me though not at all rural and he received via FedEx a letter telling him he would receive the device via FedEx within the next week. It arrived & he hooked it up and has been interrogated twice since then and will be interrogated again next Monday. He tells me the...

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PM phone check-ups

I have had my PM for 5 years now and I used to have them checked over the phone every 3 months, then it became every 2 months, and for the last 5 months it has been every month. I see my EP doc once a year (July) and have a PM check in the office every year. By them changing my phone checks once a month, does that mean that my PM battery is on it's last leg? Just curious if anyone knows.

I have my yearly PM check in the office tomorrow, so I guess I will find out for sure then. J...

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PM Clinic

I read on one of the other boards that PM clinic visits sometimes leave patients exhausted or just plain not feeling well for a while. What can anyone here tell me about their experiences and what I can expect? I just had mine implanted this past Monday and my first visit to the clinic is June 26th.

Rick

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Anyone know what I should do?

Hey fellow Pacers... I have a situation that I am not quite sure how to handle. I sent my inquiry to a fellow member, then copy and pasted it here, frankly because this private message says it all... (hope you don't mind Valerie)
Thanks to all in advance who take the time to read and reply!


Hey thanks Valerie. I have been doing ok. Trying to keep busy with school, and physical activity. Bored.com, never heard of that but I will have to check it out.

Anyways, I re...

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Newbie

Hi Y'all,
I just found this site by way of the Medtronics site.

On February 7 I had open heart surgery to take care of 5 bypasses. On May 5 I had my first bout of AF that lasted about 8 hours. After a few days I was released to go back to work as a truck driver then on Memorial Day weekend had my second AF bout. This one only lasted about 90 minutes but it put me off work again.

This past Monday I had my PM implanted set at 60 bpm. It's a Medtronics Enrhythm. The Med...

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pulse rates adjustment

Hi Everyone,

I had my PM put in last month. It stopped the dizzinesss and tiredness but I was getting intermittant sharpe chest pains 4 times a day for around 10 minutes.Went for my check up. The Doc lowered my pulse rate bottom from 60 to 50.
Since then, slowly but consistently I have been getting dizzy-now just from walking fast and going up stairs. However chest pain only a few times in a week for less than a minute.
Today it seems even worse now I'm wondering if I pulle...

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discouraged

hi all. God bless all the wonderful people in this site! I feel very discouraged...i saw my cardiologist last week and he told me that i have to live with what i have...there is nothing elce he can do for me. I really dont get it. According to him i have atrial tachycardia and i also have ventricular events... im not sure what they are called: qvc or pvcs? He also says i have vasovagal disease and supposely not related to my pacemaker but i just wonder why im having this now? i never had faintin...

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Follow-up

Hi all.
Just an update. I finally got to see my cardiac specialist for an follow-up and interogation. They turned my voltage from 5 volts to 2.5 (I was told going to a lower voltage does not help battery life) and set my lower rate at 60. It kind of different as my pulse has been so fast for years and I can now feel each beat.

The nurse told me to walk and lenght of the hallway twice and if I made it back I could leave the ward. I guess if you don't die in the hall you pass.

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had my check up

had my check up last monday and they tuned up the pm which seems to have given me more get up and go i dont know if its in my head but long may it last ! am having problems with my insurance company re driving which makes me cross,dont thy realise that i am better now, not worse never mind it will work out soon i hope.kathy

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update

HelloFriends
I posted last week about twitches in my chest and missed heart beats. I went to the doctor today and had my pm interrigated. It's been 2 months since the pm was put in and today they turned the voltage from 5 to 2.5. It was amazing how the tech could create the tic on demand for me. So that should be solved.
The missed beats I was feeling were after I exercised. Turns out I had an upper rate of 130. They moved it up to 160. Afterwords they put me on a holter monito...

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What to expect.

Hi,

As I posted earlier, I received my PM Apr 30, 2007. This all happened too fast! I don't know what is next. Did I get the right PM? What do I expect for the "interogation?" What questions should I ask? I want to be informed, but not overwhelmed.

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Followup To First PM Interrogation

Took everyone's advice and contacted my cardiologist yesterday about the chest pain being caused by the rate response being turned on last week during my first PM interrogation.

After some discussion, my cardiologist agreed to my request to turn off the rate response, due to chest pain. He did say that my heart's internal pacemaker will raise my heartrate without the PM, so there was no critical need to have the rate response turned on.

It was the opinion of my cardiolog...

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First Pacemaker Interrogation

Just had my first pacemaker interrogation last week and have had problems with chest pain since.

The Guidant Rep asked how I felt. I said I did not have the energy I had before the PM. The Guidant Rep decided to turn on the rate response accelerometer to increase my heartrate upon physical exertion. I was told there are three settings, and I am set in the middle (not sure what the differences are) .

Since the accelerometer was turned on I have had chest pain riding my law...

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new pacer

They are having a hard time setting mine up without me feeling it. Is anyone else having that problem too?

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It's much better to live with a pacemaker than to risk your life without one.