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ASD, A-Fib, A-Flutter and now PM

What a year! I started off feeling fine. A routine physical with EKG informed me I had atrial fibrillation. This led to an Echocardiogram, which led to a TEE which led to open-heart surgery in march to correct a large ASD (atrial septal defect) and the a-fib (maze procedure.)
Four weeks after the surgery, life was starting to get good again, when my heart beat sped up without reason. Back to the hospital to discover I now had atrial flutter! Ablation procedure to stop the flutter....

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CT Findings

Hi Everyone! I finally got a copy of the CT report and I thought I'd share the SVC finding...

BTW you might want to grab a chair and sit down.....

"There is a chronic near total occlusion of the Superior Vena Cava just proximal to the insertion of the azygos arch with marked enlargement of the superior intercostal veins, the accessory hemiazygos vein and the distal azygos vein and arch. Prominent subcutaneous collateral veins are also noted."

OK, you can breathe...

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beginning symptoms

I was just told I need a pacemaker. I have known I have complete heart block for 10 years but have never been symptomatic. My heart rate is usually about 46 but i have seen it anywhere from 37-55 while awake. I had some episodes where it sped up and things became distant 2 times. The medical doc thougt it was panic attack though I've never had one. My cardiologist says, I'll have to get a pacemaker eventually anyway and it's possible I felt my heart pause. I was very scared that day and tho...

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ICD and returning to exercise

Hi Everyone

I am from Northern Ireland and have Long QT Type 1. I got a shiny new I.C.D in Nov '06 and I have been scared to return to any sort of proper exercise ever since. I was quite active before my diagnosis but after finding out that my heart condition is triggered by exercise has made me very wary. I have the usual fears of leads being pulled out and inappropriate shocks so my question is..... what sort of exercise do any of you guys do? I have started cycling and walking agai...

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Soft Touch Seat Belt Thing

Does anyone have this PM protection pad advertised on this site? Wondering if it works well. I am having a problem when I drive. The seat belt irritates my incision and applies too much pressure to the area. I've been using a soft heavy washcloth but it keeps slipping and looks a little silly too.

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Tate

Hope Tate is doing well this evening. I have a five year old granddaughter so I can identify with him. Our thoughts and prayers are with you tonight.

Sue and family

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I need your help!

I am so frustrated! I had my PM implanted in March 07 and I am still having SO many problems. I was told my Doctor was one of the best but he (actually a team of 5) can't figure out what is wrong. I got the PM because I have a second degree heart block when I exercise. My heart rate would go from 170 to 60 and stay there for a minute or two while working out. The signal from the upper chamber to the lower chamber was not going throught so that is where the pacemaker came in. After MONTHS the...

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Frozen Sholder

What is this and how do I prevent it?

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Thank you all for the encouragement!

Thank you all so much for the encouragement! The anxiety along with the pain is a Bear! I feel so alone and it is great to have this website. I stumbled on it accidently and I'm SO glad I did. All of your suggestions and info were very helpful. It's good to know that my feelings are normal and part of the process.

Cornellgirl

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Travel Insurance

What are members experience with obtaining travel insurance once you have pacemaker/defib unit?

I had an infarct 20 years ago, and have had some issues with travel insurance in the past, usually having to concede that any cardiac issues would not be covered by insurance.

With more recent travel I haven't had to worry as the questions on the application form relating to cardiac issues only covered the last 10 years, so I could ignore my past experience (I have been symptom...

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Finally an answer?

Hello everyone. Wanted to update....wow. Thank you all for your support!

This last Tuesday I had a CT with contrast (ordered by my internist only after I've been to hell and back trying to get an answer) to look at my chest to see if there was a connection to the swelling and pain in my left arm. The result was colorful.

I apparently have obstruction in progress of my Superior Vena Cava (SVC). What kind of obstruction is yet to be determined (could be a clot?) so I go back...

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New Pacemaker

Hi All,
I just had PM put in this past Friday and it is REALLY painful. Feels like it will never stop hurting. My arm's in a sling and I cannot sleep or eat much (i'm a chubby girl, so that's prob a good thing :)

I'm staying with my 24yr old daughter while recovering and it is a challenge since we both live alone & are quite independent. Fortunately my heart is healthy other than the Sick Sinus Syndrome they said I had which should be corrected by this PM. I have alot of anxiety...

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Anxiety

I had my pacemaker installed in an emergency surgery on Wed. afternoon. Since I have been dealing with a great deal of anxiety about all aspects of my recovery. I had a very sudden onset of heart block and it was quite frightening. I can't seem to shake the fears that it will happen again or that I will have every complication possible. In actuality all seems to be going well. Is there any help for the anxiety?

Jack

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I R I S H P A C E R S W H E R E A R E U ?

Sorry to be a bore ~ Just wondering (again!) whether any Irish Pacers (pacers living in Ireland) would be interested in getting together. Please let me know if anyone is interested, there's 4 of us so far (from Dalkey, Donegal, Co. Down and Galway) but there must be more of you out there ........... drop me a line with any thoughts, thanks and look forward to hearing from you ......
(colinandanita@eircom.net or anitaabboyle@hotmail.com)
Thanks and best regards,
Anita.

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lost voice

I had my pm implanted on Friday. Sunday when I woke up I realized I could barely talk. This lasted most of the day and seemed a bit better at night. Today it is back to normal. Just wondered if anyone else experienced anything like this?
Judy

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Anxiety

It has now been nine (long) weeks since my PM. I am having such anxiety and boutsof crying. I have an appointment to see a therapist and probably start on an anitdepressant which I have always been totally against, but I need to do something for this anxiety. I also feel that I need some adjustments to my PM and I do have an appointment to go in to see to cardiologist for that soon. My energy level is low and I also have a slight headache once in awhile which I have never had many headaches...

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From EP Lab Digest.

This article might be of interest to everyone. It sounds like a marvelous invention. I hope it will soon be available. It's about time that someone comes up with a pacemaker aesthetically better for thin skinned women, and men.

~ Dominique ~

Features:
Anatomically Correct Permanent Pacemaker Casing
- Sergio Sanchez-Zambrano, MD Cleburne, Texas.

Article.

The electronics of current implantable devices are outstanding and truly life-saving devic...

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2 and 3 lead Pacemakers

I have had a two lead pacemaker for about 8 years....I have had it replaced once because the battery aged and failed. I have developed fluid in my lungs which has been attributed to my heart. It has been recommended that I replace my two lead pacemaker with a three lead one. They say it will be more efficient. Has anyone had a problem like this and were you told the same thing? What has been your experience?
I would appreciate anything you can tell me related to this type of problem.

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MINI MAZE PROCEDURE

Hello
This is my second post today so many questions. I had mentioned being in afib now for about 4-5 days i have a pacemaker for tachy - brady syndrome i take coumadin i also take digoxin and tambacor ant atenalol because of the afib but have never had it last so long anyway the last time i saw my cardiologist he mentioned doing a mini maze procedure he told me there was only one dr in colorado who did this and he happened to be at the hospital i use has anyone had this and did it work he...

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Hi Dani

Sorry to hear you are headed for a pacer as well.
I have no family history. I actually got a virus and it went to my heart and I got ectopic atrial tachycardia. Long story short
it took 4 ablations to get rid of it and ended up with heart rate too slow and it stopping multiple times a day for 8 seconds.

I was very dizzy, short of breath, and had no exercise tolerance. It happened pretty quick after my last ablation. I do feel 100 % better since the pacer though, other than t...

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You know you're wired when...

Bad hair days can be blamed on your device shorting out.

Member Quotes

Pacemakers are very reliable devices.