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 Post subject: A Short in my Pacemaker?
PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 11:58 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 4:19 pm
Posts: 9517
Location: Coalmont BC
I thought I would post this for interest, just in case any of you might experience something similar in the future.... I had a Cardiac Arrest almost 10 years ago, and was "dead" for 10 minutes.... It was an electrical failure in my heart, and they implanted an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) in case it ever happens again.... It also has a pacemaker that goes along for the ride, although I don't need one.... So far I have not needed my internal "jumper cables", but it's nice to know they are there.... :roll:

I outlived the batteries in the first one, and it was replaced in Sept. 2019.... After it was replaced, I could feel a "kink" in one of the leads under my skin, above the device, and mentioned it to my Dr. and Cardiologist.... I have a remote "Monitoring Station" at home, which the ICD contacts via "Blue Tooth" if it detects a problem, which then sends an alert to my Cardiologist.... There is also an internal alarm (sounds like the siren on an ambulance) that goes off in my chest to alert me of a possible problem, either with my heart, or the device.... Pretty slick system.... 8)

Anyways, last November, the alarm went off in my chest, and the Pacemaker Clinic told me the "impedance" (resistance) of the Atrial lead (there are 2 leads, one in the right Atrium, one in the right Ventricle) had a reading that was "out of range", so they tested it, found it to be OK, and shut off the alarm for the lead....This is like disconnecting the "check engine light" in your car.... :roll: .... A week later, the alarm in my chest went off again, this time they said I had a 2.5 hour episode of A-Fib, so they reset that alarm to 6 hrs. our of 24 hrs.... basically just so they would not have to see me every time it reported A-Fib, as I am on Warfarin and asymptomatic for A-Fib anyways....

My remote monitoring station sent a "normal" report in early March, but I was beginning to feel a "fullness" in my upper chest occasionally, and was "running out of steam" with only moderate activity, which I told them about.... A couple of weeks ago the Pacemaker Clinic called me in because they received a report from my monitoring station that I had over 6 hrs. of A-Fib, but the trace looked more like "electrical noise", so they suspected a lead problem.... HELLO, I told you about the kink in the lead over a year ago, and you got a warning about that last November!!!!.... They shut off the Atrial lead, sent me for a Chest X-Ray, and made me an appointment with a Heart Surgeon in Kelowna (3 hrs. away), and I saw him yesterday....

The weird thing is that since they shut off the Atrial lead, that occasional full feeling in my chest went away, and I have been feeling "normal" for the first time in months.... The Heart Surgeon used the Pacemaker to speed up my heart to test the device, and I got the same "full" feeling I had been experiencing (with increasing frequency) since the original warning about the faulty lead.... He told me that the Pacemaker part of the ICD was likely interpreting the electrical noise from the (failing) Atrial lead incorrectly, and trying to pace my heart when it didn't need it.... That is why turning off that lead made me feel better!.... He informed me that a lot of patients only had the Ventricle lead implanted, so he reprogrammed my ICD to act like it didn't have an Atrial lead, and was a single lead device.... It will still deliver a shock if my heart stops, and can still pace me if my heart rate drops below 40 BPM, so this is a safe thing to do, and avoids surgery to install a new Atrial lead....

The moral of this story is, if you have a Pacemaker or ICD, and one of the leads starts to fail, it can give the device false signals in the form of electrical noise, which it may interpret as A-Fib, or some other condition that needs pacing.... This was not unique to me, my Heart Surgeon has seen it before.... When this unnecessary pacing occurs, it can cause this "fullness" in the upper chest, and a lack of energy, particularly upon exertion.... I'm not telling you that this will happen, only that it is a possibility, so if you experience these symptoms, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask your Cardiologist if there is a problem with one of the leads.... ;)

Bottom line is, I feel the best I have in months, and my energy levels have improved greatly.... 8)

Bob

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Dominion Marksman Silver Shield - 5890 x 6000 in 1976, and downhill ever since!
Airsonal; Too many! Springers, Pumpers, CO2, but I love my PCPs and developing them!
Proud Member of the 2000+fps Club!


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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 12:11 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:35 pm
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Location: P.G. B.C.
Yikes - knocking on wood. Best wishes, Bob.

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Daryl


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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 1:40 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:17 pm
Posts: 4146
Location: Kingston, ON
Yay for technology. Like it or not it's keeping you shooting!
All the best Bob.

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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 1:46 pm 
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Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2015 9:29 am
Posts: 300
Location: King Twp ON
Good to hear you are feeling better, and even better that you are improving daily.
Funny how your brain wants to see one thing whereas you eyes clearly read the title, couldn't figure out how your Peacemaker(Colt) was having a short. :roll:

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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 3:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:42 am
Posts: 191
Location: BC
The moral of the story to me when I add my heart experiences is ...get thee to a larger centre as they know what they are doing. Small town/city Dr's and techs just do not have the experience like larger community ones do.


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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 4:23 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 4:19 pm
Posts: 9517
Location: Coalmont BC
While that may be true to some extent, I have found that Doctors in big cities tend not to listen to their patients any better (if as well).... My ICD was replaced in Vancouver (6 times the size of Kelowna, and 20 times the population of Penticton) and regardless of the fact that I told my Surgeon that the leads on my first ICD were looped in a strange manner, and could he please make sure they were better positioned when he changed it, when I came away from that replacement the leads then had a pronounced kink in them....

I was a mechanic for over 30 years, and one of the first things you learn is not to put a kink in a wire, particularly when one end of it can move around.... A year later, that kinked lead began to break.... It is clear in the X-Ray that it has a kink in it.... :roll:

Bob

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Dominion Marksman Silver Shield - 5890 x 6000 in 1976, and downhill ever since!
Airsonal; Too many! Springers, Pumpers, CO2, but I love my PCPs and developing them!
Proud Member of the 2000+fps Club!


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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2021 4:50 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:35 pm
Posts: 11301
Location: P.G. B.C.
Kinks cause heat.

Old friend of mine, of 48years now, a GP now retired, once told me:
"Let's face it Daryl, in the back woods, you get back woods medicine".
Perhaps that has changed since the 70's, perhaps not. Here, with a
population of 85,000, misdiagnosed my spinal break for 6 years of XRays.
It was initially misdiagnosed in Surrey Mem. Hos. in 1974 & then until 1979.
I was getting X-rayed about twice a year, due to the constant pain.
By the time someone actually looked at the XRays then said " Well, well,
you broke you back, way back in 1974 - don't know how we could have missed
that. You need a fusion now. It healed crookedly." By then, I had no disk left in
L5 and the one above it.
When it happened, I was 'back' to work driving a police car in Surrey, 2 weeks after
I broke my back skiing. Yeah - it was painful, 292's helped somewhat. Just lucky I didn't
get into any scraps I guess, until it had healed some. Would likely have ended up
paralyzed. "They" finally repaired my back in the year 2000, 26 years after I broke it.
Still in pain - they say it's phantom pain. Sure feels like the same back pain to me.
Ya throws the dice and "take" what happens, no matter where you are from, it seems.
Life goes on, we hope. Gotta look on "THE BRIGHT SieeedE OF LIFE". (or however that jingle goes)

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Daryl


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PostPosted: Sun May 16, 2021 11:08 am 
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Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 1:08 am
Posts: 820
Location: Thunder Bay
Good to hear you're feeling better, Bob. Heart problems are scary. I'm incredibly fortunate to have survived a "widow maker" heart attack myself 10 years ago.

Stay healthy and safe.

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Theory is when you know how something works, but it doesn't.
Practice is when something works, but you don't know why.
In my shop, Theory and Practice are combined!
Nothing works and I don't know why.

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PostPosted: Sun May 16, 2021 12:02 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 11:00 pm
Posts: 784
Thanks for sharing your experience Bob, Although I dont have one, it's still info that will be something important when the time comes.


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