I hardly ever think about my pacemaker anymore. Except to be thankful I have it.

I have a St Jude 5816...implanted in July of 2006.

Shelly, tell us about you.

Sue

I forgot to say WHY I have it....bradycardia, AFib and long sinus pauses.

I have a medtronic biventricular pacemaker with an ICD. I had heart failure in August 2005. After six months of treatment and wearing a device(external defibulator) called a Life vest I had an internal pacemaker and defibulator implanted in January 2006. My pacemaker has improved my heart function dramatically. Mine works by synchronizing the beats of the left and right sides of my heart and making it work more efficently. The left side of my heart is severly damaged from the heart failure and I have a left bundle branch block so the left side gets no signals as to when it is supposed to beat. When it beats on its own it is random or in reaction to the right side beating. The study that was done to get these pacemakers FDA approved was called the "miracle study". The last time I had an Echocardiogram the tech who did it has been doing my Echos since the first day I was in the hospital. She said "this is why they called it the miracle study" I am so thankful. To think, If this had happend to me 10 years ago, I would either not be here or be VERY ill. Tell me some more about you....

Hi--I received a Medtronic ICD in October of 2007- I was 46 years old. In July of that year- they told me I had idiopathic heart failure - EF 29--VTACH and AFIB and my heart was enlarged - cardiomyopathy. I had a four hour ablation among other tests---They could not find a cause - they think I was born with a weak heart and no one caught it.

While I know my ICD protects me from sudden cardiac death, I am still anxious and nervous about all of these problems. I work-- and I try to function normally as a wife, mom, etc. But, I think to myself--should I be doing all of this--Will my heart just conk out?

I am always tired. I still feel like I need some help. I am really scared!!! No one seems to understand.

I hope all of you are well.

Thanks for listening

HUGS---Michelle

Yes, it is a reason to be thankful. What a wonderful outcome for you.
About me...I've had arrythmia, atrial fibrillation (causing sinus pauses), and borderline bradycardia for most of my adult life. But it was VERY intermittent and sporadic. I could never get any test or Holter monitor to show it. I was told my heart was in perfect shape but probably had PVC's or something similar. Sometimes a whole year would go by without symptoms.

Anyway, I had serious lung surgery in July 2006. Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis) destroyed the middle lobe of my right lung. After a lobectomy and while in ICU the alarms kept going off on the monitors. The medication stopped the A Fib but made the bradycardia much worse. My heart rate was in the high 20's.
Anyway, on the 3rd day I had a pacemaker implanted. So, I went into the hospital thinking I probably had lung cancer and left the hospital a week later with a "no cancer" diagnosis but with a pacemaker. A very confusing time to say the least.
Actually, I was happy to have a confirmation of my heart irregularities after all those years. I knew I wasn't imagining it. And I no longer have any symptoms at all!

I'm very fortunate to not have any cardiac problems except an "electrical" malfunction. They don't even know what caused it, as is often the case.

Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble on.

Take care,,
Sue

I'm sorry, Michelle, but when I replied to Shelly your post wasn't up yet. I don't want to seem like I just disregarded your concerns.

This forum is a good one but not very active. Have you tried pacemakerclub.com ? They are much more active...many people post daily. Just a thought.

Anyway, I'm sending hugs and prayers to both of you, Michelle and Shelly....

Sue

I have a Boston Scientific Biventricular pacemaker with defibrillator. My heart functions like Sb57. My heart failure was caused by cardiomyopathy & a virus. The BVP was installed the end of November 2008 and I feel much better with it. I haven't had the ultrasound yet to see if heart function has improved but I feel like it has. My ef was 10% but doctors say that could very well go up.

I know how you feel, Michelle. My heart function has improved a great deal, but I still have heart failure. Without the pacemaker/icd and all of the meds, I would out of luck for sure. I am tired Alllllll of the time. But I am still thankful for the quality of life I do have right now. I only can do about half of what I should be able to do at my age. It is scary and I understand.
My cardiomyopathy is idiopathic. In August 2005, my EF was 10%. It went up to 20-25% after about 6 months and the pacemaker. The PVC's kept it low until we got them under control. After that it went up to 35%, then 45%, and now 50% last summer. I suspect that is as high as it will get, but I am happy. I am so happy about this discussion. I hope we keep it up. Good luck to everyone and lets keep up the discussion.
Love to you all,
Shelly

Shelly--mine is idiopathic as well--
your EF IS 50%?--that is awesome--

really great- it sounds like you've got a handle on this condition

I will look for your postings and seek out your advice
WOW!!!!
Michelle

I haven't been on here for sometime and never get the emails that people have posted on this board. So I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond.

I have a medtronic dual chamber ICD this is my 3rd. I have Ventricular Tachycardia (Idopathic). I just had my first two shocks in May 08 and feel very blessed to have had the device so safe me. However I have been scared ever since the events. Anxiety etc. Soooo michelle I just want you to know it's totally normal and if you would like more info on how I deal with all of this let me know. Since the last implant I've also had pain in the area of the device implant and irritation in the middle of my chest that is painful with a cough .. I may need my device repositioned. They are thinking of putting it sub-pectoral. Anyway it's been a rollercoaster ride since May.

I hope all is well with everyone on and I'm glad to see more activity on here..

Blessings
Renee

It is good to see you posting on this board, Renee. I certainly appreciate your experience in this area and the advice that you can offer. So, Where is your device implanted?

My Device in implanted subcutaneous which means above the muscle and they now want to implant it sub-pecotral which means they would put it below the muscle. I'm scared to death because I'm not a fan of surgery but I don't anyone who really is.. :)

Where is implanted?
Hope all is well..
Renee

Good luck,Renee. When are you having the surgery done? I am sorry you are having to go through another surgery. Let me know.

I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2004, after going in for a stress test. I had been sent by my pcp because I was so fatigued all the time, shortness of breath and wanted to just sleep. After about two years of treating it very viguorously with meds there was little change. So I had a medtronic pacemaker defib in Apr 06. I only got a shocked/charged twice on one ocassion, it was rather scarey, I did go to the ER to just get checked out and make sure I was OK. I had been mowing for just a few minutes when it happened. I am sort of thankful for the experience because on Aug 8 08 I was awakened about 6 a.m.on Monday morning with what I knew was a shock from the device, I tried to remain calm but it happened again, I live alone, so I called my daughter, my son-in-law said we will be right there, I tried to get my insurance & medtronicID out of my purse, I had two more shocks and I was very frightened by this time, becoming very weak and somewhat faint, I knew I could not wait for them to arrive I tried to call an ambulance, I lay on my bed thinking this is really it, I am dying right here all by myself. I had more shocks and could barely talk, I got out that I was having a heartattack, maybe my address, (cell phones do not display your address to 911 calls) they all arrived about the same time, terrified my daughter to see the ambulance and firetruck when she arrived. My BP was out the roof, can't remember, anyway they took me to the closest hospital to get me stabilized. I had a lead fracture on my device. It was turned off at the ER, my heart doctor did surgery to replace the leads the next morning. I have had what I call phantom occurences for awile afterwards, almost every night or two, I was afraid of everything, the tv might pop or a light buzz, one time a child popped a balloon in the grocery, I cried, it was horrible. I am doing better but it has been hard. I hope that never happens to anyone else. That is my story and I am so glad to have found this group , I hope to become friends with you. Cathy

OMG, Cathy! This problem with the lead fractures is sooo scary. I was called back in for them to check mine(I also have medtronic) for the lead fractures. They turned on some sort of alarm that is supposed to go off if I start to have a problem. This is supposed to precede a shock far enough in advance for me to get help. What a horrible experience for you! I am glad to meet you and hope to become friends as well.
I am going in next Wednesday for a check. I am in a study at Emory University in Atlanta. It has to do with the component that monitors fluid retention on the the device. I will let you all know how that goes next week for sure.
Shelly