Most Recent Messages in Batteries & Leads

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leads coming loose

Hi everyone, I had my pacemaker put in 6 weeks ago. I haven't had any major problems just the fact it's uncomfortable, I have had a little bit of heartburn which I never had before. The doctor won't let me return to work for another 2 weeks because he doesn't want the leads to be pulled loose. I'm concerned a bit about returning to work because I have to unload trucks and reach high to unload them. I am 63 and am asst manager in retail and my job requires a lot of heavy lifting. Should I be worr...

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Sounding pacemaker ?

Hi: Perhaps it'll sound nonsense to you, but I've been told some pacemakers, in the case of failing battery or broken lead,will emit a warning sound.
Is it true ?

Thanks

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Lead extraction/replacement

Hi,

I am scheduled for a generator replacement this week. My EP indicated that they will check the leads and replace/extract as needed. Has anyone had a lead extracted or replaced? I am concerned about the risk with either of these procedures.

In my last two medtronic pacemaker checks (at cardiologist's office), the rep noted a lead failure. Hence, i am very concerned that the lead will need to be replaced.

Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated!

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92 year old mother doesn't want new battery

Hello everyone,
I am new to this club. My 93 year old mother has had a pacemaker for about 10 years. The Dr. said she needs a new battery... I sure this is true. But, she does not want her life artificially prolonged due to a number of factors. Does anyone know if a new battery would actually prolong her life, or give her a better quality of life without necessarily prolonging it?
Thanks

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Uncle confused?

My Uncle said that his Pacer was weak so they replaced it. He was told that batteries are not replaced, you get another pacer? A much larger one was installed....had to be jammed and forced in to fit? Does this sound right to anyone? The new pacer is the size of a Hockey Puck! Old Inventory! What are your thoughts?

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Lead extraction

Hi everyone! Hope your Thanksgiving holiday was awesome!! I have a question...has anyone on here had the old "hook type" leads extracted? That's the term my cardiologist used to describe my 15 year-old leads. When I received my replacement PM on Oct 1st a new Ventricular lead was implanted and the old one was capped off. (I'm 100% paced and EP says I have no natural rhythm) We hoped the Atrial lead would last another few years, but it's going bad very fast. Now both of the old leads need to be e...

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Twiddling

I had no clue what this was until reading so many horrific posts here so I asked the grand fellow who did the testing on my PM last week...for my thoughts twiddling your PM is just a bit insane...its one of those don't ask don't tell things in life....don't ask and don't tell someone who has intelligence enough NOT to do something as this or even joke about...sorry but life is precious and playing with something that keeps your heart paced is not something to play with...in my mind.

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Wondering

Hi everyone, Very grateful that I found this site a month ago after my ICD implant..Last week had my follow up with Cardio Doc. and I ask him ..how do you remove the glue they used around the stiches..mm he sad you should be able to just pull it off...so when I got home I did... and I found what look like some type of thread material..I cut it off. Im wondering what it was..I dont have my appt with the ElectroCardo Doc until Dec 2...IM hoping it wasnt 1 of the leads...been feeling ok... Wonderin...

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lead removal

I been having problems with this pacer since the beginning. Not really the pacer itself but just having it. The doc said today as he was releasing me from the hospital that he is going to take the lower ventricular lead out and that I don't need it. I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about it. I think it may be a waste and I need it or it will make me worse all together without it. Has any of you had your vent lead taken out? I am to the point to where I might just have them take the pace...

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Leads

Hi,
I had my pacemaker fitted in January this year, I was in surgery for 3 hours as there was a problem with the reading of my bottom lead. They decided to keep an eye on the lead and hope it would settle into the right position.
After 11 months I still have the same problem, the PM can't read the bottom lead, I now have to keep going to have reading every three months, but am worried about what implications this may have.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

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costs

Hello all: I am new to this site but stumbled across it and find it has some extremely nice down to earth people on board.

I have a simple question that perhaps you could answer for me. I have a single lead pacemaker for Bradycardia. My question concerns the area of replacement once needed. I am considering a career change and am concerned about insurance needs for that replacement. Is it like getting a brand new one in which the cost was considerable, or is it more like maintena...

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i'm confused

had checkup today 1 year and 3 months, had to have xray because one of my leads looked bad, come to find out, one lead is completely pulled out and one is just pulled, have to have echo to see what ejection fraction is and then wait two weeks to see what the doctor is going to decide to do. At least my defibulator is stll connected, Yeah!!! Does anyone understand this, he kept saying it wasnt good but it wouldn’t be as easy this time???

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longing to be wrong

A little over 3 years ago I was implanted with a biventricular pacer / ICD - one of the leads was among those recalled by Medtronics. Last Halloween my defibrillator fired unncessarily - and it turned out the lead had fractured. It was replaced almost exactly a year ago.(By a different doctor than the one who did the original surgery - primarily because I have moved across the state from doc #1 -) Within two weeks I was in horrific pain - and a trip to the cardiologist showed the new lead was no...

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Faulty Lead - Draining Battery

Hello I an 35 years old and I have a Dual Chamber Mode:DDDR Medtronic KDR901 Pacemaker - I received my 6th Pacemaker in 2004 and the leads in 1996.

Pacer Function:
Sensing Atrial: Unknown
Ventricular: Yes
Capture: Atrial Yes, Ventricular Yes

I have a faulty lead wire to the Atrial, top chamber of my heart depends on pacemaker 100%

Voltage: 0.75 in Ventricular & 2 in Atrial
Impedance 1022 in Ventricular and 139 in Atrial.

Sensing in...

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Leads pushing on nerve (?) causing pain

Hello all,

I'm new to this site and apologize if I'm asking a question that's already been answered on here somewhere.

I've had my PM for almost 5 years and until recently, I haven't had any issues with it. However, the past couple of weeks I've been experiencing a lot of pain in the area around my shoulder and when I use my left arm "too much" it turns red. My doctor said it had something to do with the lead pushing on a nerve or something?? I'll be going back in a mo...

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battery

hi, I was told that my pacemaker battery needed to be replace the big R showed up on the reading, on Oct. 3rd but that they can not replace it until Nov. 9th, how long after the big R shows up do you have before completion..I am 100% dependent on my pacemaker

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Battery Replacement/Fishing Trip

Hi Everyone,

I am scheduled to go on a large game Fishing Trip (75 pounds and up) on 12/8. My pacemaker just went into low voltage mode on 10/16. The tech said something about the pacer going from a dual to a single chambered pacer to conserve energy? He indicated that I would have 3 months to replace it, but suggested not to wait. Not being a gambling man myself, I agree and would like to get it done ASAP. The soonest I could get in for just the initial consult is 11/8. Hypo...

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Leads(new member)

Hi All,

I am new to the site and wish I would have found you all sooner! I am 33 and had my first pacemaker in when I was 19. When I was 27, I had a new generator put in and they extracted one lead with a laser. My battery just went in to low voltage mode so I will be setting up the generator replacement within the next few weeks. My questions are this:

The tech indicated that he was not able to get a good read on if the leads were fully functioning and the only way th...

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Lead alert system going off

I have one of the Sprint Fidelis recalled leads. The past two days the alert system (sounds like French ambulance) has gone off at 10:10 a.m. & I have sent transmissions from home. The nurse at my cardiologist's office says my lead is OK, but my battery is low. I thought the alert was related to lead fracturing and not the battery. Has anyone had any experience with the two-toned alert going off? Has it been related to battery failure?

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Recovery time after battery replacement

Hi! I'm having my CRT-D device (Medtronic Insync Maximo) replaced because the battery is running down. My leads are OK. How's recovery for this? I'm leaving for an overseas vacation about two weeks after the surgery.... It took me three weeks to recover from the initial implant, but most of my issues were lead related. I'm hoping recovery will be a snap!

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Member Quotes

I am just thankful that I am alive and that even though I have this pacemaker it is not the end of the world.