Most Recent Messages in Batteries & Leads

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Scared, battery is low

I am getting scared.  I have a St Jude dual chamber ICD, pacing artial 90% ventricle 20%.  SSS, right atrium defect.   I live in the US.

This is my second, soon to be 3rd pace maker.  I was implanted in 2011 with this device... I have been told I had 2 years, 6 months later, 1 year,  2 months later 10 months before I run out of battery.  It is dropping quickly.  Mathematically I am at less than 9% battery life.   They (Kaiser Insurance)...

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Having problems with pacemaker

Hello all I am new here, I had a duel chamber pacemaker placed on nov 3rd 2021 started a few days later with twitching in my right side and diaphram found out the lead came out of place, so on november 16th 2021 they went back in and my pacemaker had fell down in pocket so he sowed it down to chest muscle and sowed the leads down and left more slack, well yesterday day after that surgery my lead has moved again, he said my heart just won't take the screws to keep it still so I am waiting...

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Pacemaker Replacement

My dual lead pacemaker is due for replacement next week, and the doctor said I should get an ultrasound of my heart to make sure it is pumping properly in case he needs to put in another lead.  This is making me nervous because just one more thing to worry about.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  Thanks so much, Holly

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may need 3rd electrode…

I hadn't downloaded my pacemaker for a couple of years and just discovered that my ventricles went from 11% dependent to 100% dependent.  The electro technician was explaining that sometimes the left ventricle which doesn't have a lead could get kind of asymmetrical, and it could lead to heart failure. It looks like I have a complete heart block now. how much harder is it to get a lead into the left ventricle than the right?  It must be more difficult than the...

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Beeping icd

I have a Boston scientific and the Ep guy said it looks like 3 months left. Today and last night it's beeping I just had the second set of beeps I heard. 12 hours apart. Anybody had this happened. I called the Dr waiting for a call back 

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Battery low

Six months ago my battery life was 2 1/2 yrs...yesterday my battery life was 5 months. Does anyone know what would cause this?

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Pacemaker change

I used to get my pacemaker checked once a year, but now it's every 3 months, on my last check up they say I've got about 12 month battery left. How long before it runs out do I have the operation? 

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Lead Fracture

Has anyone had a lead fracture and had odd symptoms prior to finding out? I ask because I had a couple of weeks of dizziness, nausea and fast heart beat runs.  One night at had reached over to turn off my nightlight and my heart rate went crazy (ended up only being 80's on my watch) but every time I moved my arm for about 10 mins, it would beat strong and funny.  Then for about a week every time I moved my arms, I would get palpitations. The amount of palpitations increased in t...

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pacemaker replacement

My first pacer was implanted 6/11, and the battery is now reaching end of service.  At the point that its "elective replacement indicator" was activated to enter ERI mode, I made the decision not to have a second implant.  At that point, my cardiologist of six years "fired" me and refused continuing care.  Further, the Abbott Lab technician also refused to provide me with any battery status testing.  I now am in hospice without any cardiology oversight...

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Lead Replacement... Use the same vein? Come in from the other side?

My leads need to be replaced and I will see the cardio electrician soon to go over the options.  I can think of three.  (1)  Remove and Replace - in kind.   (2) Insert the replacement without removal.  (3) Come in from the other side.

Seems like (1) & (2) are more risky than (3).  If so, why would a doctor consider doing (1) or (2)?

I want to think this through before seeing the cardio electrician.   I...

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Lead replacement

Good Morning everyone!

three years ago one of my leads needed replacing. So another lead was fed down the same vein and malfunctioned lead was capped off.  During the process I went into VF and was ‘zapped twice’ ...During the process I suffered a pericardial effusion!  I’ve just found out that this second replacement lead is showing signs of malfunction!  I am terrified!  I have to go back in three months to see if the numbers have stabilized. &nbs...

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Single Lead for Intermittent AV Block

Hi again, high-anxiety soon-to-be-implanted pacemaker patient here.

I had a cardiac MRI done last week that confirmed mild LV noncompaction, QRS ~ 140ms. My doctor saw 3 long pauses on my Zio monitor over two weeks: 10s, 8s, and 7s. "High grade AV block". During waking hours I have 1st degree AV block with no pauses, been that way for 5 years. Asymptomatic but he wants to give me a PM to reduce my risk...

I talked with this doctor yesterday, and he recommended a sin...

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Urgent advice

Dear members

I have a VDD pacemaker implant since 2011 but I have paced  3% since then.  The problem  is Its now  pacing diaphragm,  I get pvcs and severe cough. drs here have confirmed  I don't need it anymore, They wanted to switch it off but the battery life is too low  to change the settings. It was on VDD mode but automatically changed the mode to VVI. 3rd day now i get severe cardiac events. The pacemaker   request immediate replace...

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Metal Mickey’s time’s up.

Check today and replacement in next week or so. Put in 2009, pretty good effort for my metal mate. St. Judes Zephyr. 
thanks for all the support and advice since 2009.

cheers,

Lizzie

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Ventricular lead pulsing

Hi, I had a dual chanber PPM fitted November 2019. For the past 10 days or so I have very regular strong pulsating from the bottom lead. I was having this 1% of the time when I had check ups in January/February.....now it is more like 40% of the time. Does anyone think this is clinically significant? I have been having some SVT's...thank you for your thoughts.

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At home transmission

I have had my pacemaker for 3 years and it  in the his bundle.

Saturday I sent over a transmission. I know this probably sounds weird. But when I did the transmission, it almost felt like my pacemaker was getting hot. It took a while as where I live doesn't have good cell reception. 

After that I felt what I thought was pvcs. Did a 1 lead ecg and no pvcs. in fact almost all my ecgs I take come up as bad recordings. I've been doing these ecgs for a long while and...

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Ventricular lead not responding

I had my first dual lead pacemaker put in a week ago for sick sinus with bradycardia.   I had a checkup with my regular doctor and the found my HR to only be 43.  He immediately set me up with a pacemaker check.  They could not get the ventricular lead to respond.  I was told the lead would need to be replaced and was sent for chest X-ray.  The LPN called later and said the doctor did not see a lead fracture and wanted to check it again in a week.  Has anyon...

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Failed lead

So, my latest remote check resulted in me being asked to go for an appointment where I was told that one of my 2 leads had failed and hadn't been working since April 🥴. I was told this was rare and bad luck...

So I'm now hoping for another one to be implanted asap along with a new battery, my first change (my present one has about a year left after being in fir 9 years). 

Has anyone else has this happen? 
 

 

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Vibrations

Howdy--I got my pacemaker a week ago and so far so good.  It seems to pace as it should.  Does anyone have experience with machines like chain saws that shake and/or vibrate?  I have a sickle bar mower that shakes like hell and a couple of chain saws and I don't know if the leads would be adversely affected or broken once it's confirmed that everything's in place.  Thanks

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Lead fracture

I thought I'd share something that happened a while back. Before covid, I was walking to lunch with co-workers and started to get dizzy and thought that I was gonna pass out. I'd been pacing for over 15 years and knew something was wrong.  "Was it plumbing or electrical?" I thought.  It took a while to diagnose, but there were other moments where I felt dizzy for a few seconds... I could be sitting in a meeting, at my desk, etc... so I started to kee...

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I am no expert, but I believe that without the defibrillator that I have, I would be dead.