Most Recent Messages in Checkups & Settings

Post Message!

Ventricular threshold continues to increase

I have been on 3 monthly checks this year because my ventricular threshold is steadily increasing from 1v to 2.9v (in 9 months).
I have a DDD pacemaker for total heart block after surgery for valve replacement and subsequent infective endocarditis.

The cardiologist doesn't seem to be concerned, just says come back in 3 months. Should I be worried?

Read More...

Pacemaker

Have a Biotronik pacemaker which I had fitted nearly six weeks ago. It was set at 55-120 I seem to remember but am having episodes of 52-140. Will it not work properly until after the ablation?

di

Read More...

Pacemaker results

Hi everyone, I have a St Jude Endurity fitted in Oct 2020 for total heart block after heart surgery.

Last year's check showed VP 99% AP 26% and ventricular threshold 0.4ms 1.87v (previously 1.2)

This year's check showed VP 77% AP 22% and ventricular threshold 0.4ms 2.7v

Also, battery life was 10.9 years last year and 6 years this year.

I would appreciate an opinion on why you think the numbers have changed?

Thanks a lot

Read More...

Heart rate spike

My pacemaker is set at 55 bpm, and usually is right there. Lately, though, after a glass or two of red wine before bed, it spikes to 80 bpm, with no chest pain nor shortness of breath; my Kardia Card reads out its ECG info as normal rhythm, normal bpm range (50-100), with no sign of Afib or other irregular rhythms. My bpm usually pops back to the pacemaker setting of 55 after 48 hours or so. What goes? Has anyone else had this unsettling experience?

Read More...

No signal from Biotronik monitor

Hi,

My Biotronik monitor has been working fine for the last year, by my bedside, but recently it has stopped sending reports to my hispital. I was given a new monitor and I checked my mobile data signal by my bed, all fine but still nothing.
 

They are trying to figure this out but I wondered if anyone else has had this same issue? Thanks, Julie 

Read More...

Continuity of Care during pacemaker checks

Hello everyone,

I recently had a pacemaker check, which I will do a separate post on. May I ask, do you usually see the same pacemaker technician, once you have found one that you can work with?  

My recent pacemaker check started me thinking about what I should expect at a follow up.  Although published some years ago, I found the attached link well worth a read:- 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1769065/

Like most medical intervention...

Read More...

Biotronik daily check

So, I've had my Biotronik pacemaker for a year now then just recently I realised I wasn't feeling the daily wire check it did, so I phoned up my hotline to my hospital and was told they'd not received anything from my bedside monitor thingyfor 21 days! Sounds like they were about to send me a letter, but surely after about 2 or 3 days they should contact me?
 

I was told to move it elsewhere in my bedroom also to switch it off and on again (classic 🥴😆) and giv...

Read More...

Settings

I had a Saint Jude PM installed about two months ago.  I am very active (69 Years Old) and do about an hour of cardio on the elliptical or treadmill 6 days a week.  I also do some light weightlifting four of the six days. My heart rate used to be 48-50 is now set at 60.  I do have some anxiety from the procedure and get the jitters when I am resting, and the PM wants me at 60 beats.  I am getting ready for my first adjustment in the next ten days.

Read More...

Change in pacing percentage

I have been diagnosed with Type 2 heart blocks and have had my pacemaker for 4 years; I always pace at less than 1%. At my interrogation yesterday it showed that it is now pacing at 20%. This seems like a huge jump. The tech thought it probably had settings that needed to be adjusted; my EP sort of shrugged and said "maybe your blocks are getting worse. I wouldn't worry about it." He did order an echo and asked me to come back in 6 months but didn't really seem to...

Read More...

Thresholds

So my threshold is set at 60bpm before the pacemaker kicks in. I saw on my smartwatch that it had been dropping to 47 bpm at night before it kicks in. Should I be concerned? 

Read More...

VT??? Please help… @AgentX86 @Tracey_E @crustyg @gemita …. and others?

Hi there guys 

It's been a while. I wondered if I could get some advice as I’m really concerned and it's affecting my day to day life significantly due to worry. 3 days ago I had a heart rhythm episode. For context, I have a Micra leadless in the right ventricle and it seems that I feel it when it kicks in (very rarely I’m hardly paced at all). I either have sinus node dysfunction or vasovagal syndrome. I needed an emergency pacemaker due to a long pause. M...

Read More...

Frustrated

Newbie here. Have had pacer 18 months. Have been complaining of short or breath for close to year. Always told pacer was ok. Yesterday was told after nuclear stress test that pacer was NOT working correctly. Got called to pacer clinic and had nurse and doctor reset some things, I got walked about quarter mile to see if breathing waz ok during that time. It was ok. So now today I'm on my own. We will see if it works. I sceptical because they reset it 5 months ago and breathing got worse.

Read More...

Just A Tweak

Being a newbie who stalked the forum before my implantation a few weeks ago, I have been hesitant to post my experience wondering if my personal story had any merit in helping anyone else. However, if even my experience could shed some small light on anyone else’s concerns, it could be of some value.

I am a 77-year-old male, with serious bradycardia and had an ablation for AF about two years ago. I had a Biotronik Edora 8 DR-T implanted. The procedure was unremarkable and after an...

Read More...

dropped beats

HI. At a recent visit with a new cardiologist they said that the settings on the boston scientific biventricular pacemaker were "too close to the threshold" and that there could have been dropped hearbeats. Has anyone heard of this or experienced this before? They didn't explain very well (a) how that could happen, in terms of the science behind it and (b) how a person would feel if that did happen. Any information would be much appreciated! 

Read More...

Mode Switch

Does anyone else have the Mode Switch setting for when you go into AF?  I'd be interested to know you're experience. TIA

Read More...

confused on ventricle overpacing i.e 99%

Hello everyone. Trying to help my 80 yo mother with her 2 month old pacemaker. Symptoms have been improving but she still has moments of lightheadedness upon standing and heavy fatigue. She was diagnosed with 2nd degree AV block (wenkeback) and bradycardia. 

Im wondering if her settings need to be adjusted. Im also concerned about over pacing (VP>99%).  Is this still a concern for (premature heart failure or left ventricle issues). Ive been reading some pubmed studies but n...

Read More...

Device Interrogation

Anyone else pacemaker dependent almost pass out when they test your device and essentially stop your heart for two beats? 

Read More...

Update for my friends!

Pacemaker clinic update: I'll try my best to get this info right lol and apologies for the long post.

My settings are DDDR. If AF is sensed at 110bpm it goes into Mode Switch with a setting of 70 now ( was 60) and when it goes into AF they've turned off something in the Atrial lead, I think, so that my heart rate can increase etc if I'm in AF and I'm out and about.  It can sense if I'm breathing and moving around but wont send fibrillation messages through to th...

Read More...

Heart flip flopping again?

Last night I had the flip floppy heart again for about half an hour. I duly dialled in sent a reading via my home monitor. Just phoned the pacemaker clinic. Last night, apparently, my heart went into atrial bigeminy which she says theyre not worried about! And there's nothing they can do. Last Saturday when I got the really slow 60 heartbeat and felt terrible I was in AF and the pacemaker is apparently set too low at 60 so they're sending me an appointment within a month to increase t...

Read More...

annual in office pacemaker check

This morning  the gal said everything looks good including the wires.  

 I asked  what is the theshold  for Afib  alert notifcations  she said it was over 2 hours.  Had not had any of those longer ones since March 2022.  Did bring a sheet with the supplements had been taking for Osteoroprosis which i found out i could not take. Wondering if they would recheck from Dec 2021-July 2022 to see if that is when the longer Afib runs were.?

<...

Read More...

You know you're wired when...

Trade secrets can be smuggled inside your device.

Member Quotes

The pacer systems are really very reliable. The main problem is the incompetent programming of them. If yours is working well for you, get on with life and enjoy it. You probably are more at risk of problems with a valve job than the pacer.