Re: pace maker reliance

[Guest guest]

> My mom is scheduled to have an ablation procedure to treat her

atrial

> fibrillation. The doctors have told her that she will be reliant

on

> her pacemaker after the surgery. They have said that if her

> pacemaker quit working, her heart would slow down to approx 30

> beats/min. Does anyone know if this is normal for the ablation

> procedure? All the write-ups I've seen on the different ablation

> procedures do not mention reliance on a pacemaker.

Hi,

It sounds as if when they implant your Mom's pacemaker they are going

to ablate her node. Once they do this she will indeed be dependent

on a pacemaker and on coumadin for the rest of her life. The try to

leave enough of the node active so if the pacemaker stops functioning

for any reason you don't die but you would be in need of emergent

medical attention. It also is not a guarantee that her a-fib will be

gone, it simply means the pacemaker will control her heart rate and

it will not be able to go any slower or faster than the pacemaker is

programmed to let it. She may also have to take meds to help with

this besides the coumadin.

If you have doubts ask a lot more questions and make sure you

understand exactly what will be done in the procedure and the

expected outcome and then make a decision if this is the best choice

for your Mom. My Mom is 85 and had a pacemaker implanted last summer

and it was not the straight forward procedure she was lead to believe

and it has not had the intended affect. Looking back we should have

asked a lot more questions and secured a second opinion.

Beverly

[Guest guest]

Hello to all

This group has helped me alot. But I just wished I would have find

you guys sooner.

1999 I had my first atrail fibrillation attack. A year later I had

another attack that lasted off and on for a week. I was in the

hospital for that week while they kept adding pills and more pills.

My family doctor didn't like the amount of pills I was on. He sent me

to a specialist. This specialist said he could fix my heart with an

ablation.

I never asked any questions. The day of the surgery I was the first

on the surgery list at 8am. It got to be 9am and no doctor. Finally

he came and said he was on the phone to my heart doctor. My heart

doctor didn't want the ablation. He wanted me on more pills. The

specialist said that he didn't like the pills that the doctor wanted

to put me on (amidodarone I found this out later). He said it was

harmful to my body.

He then brought up that he thought after the ablation I would need a

pace maker.The heart won't want to beat on its own sometimes.

I got upset and said no to the pacemaker. I told him to just go in

and see that is wrong. He said that if I never had the ablation that

next week I would be back in for it. You know all this to take in

when you are holding up the operatoring room for the day. So I told

him only use the pacemaker if the ablation won't work. So I was awake

during the operation and he asked me if I wanted the pace maker

because he couldn't help me with out it. I was tired of all the

stress by that point so said to go ahead with it.

So in 2000 the pace maker was inplanted. The next day I had an atrial

fibrillation attack in the hospital. I was upset. The doctor said

that that was normal that the pacemaker would control it. Which it

did. I was put back on sotalol twice a day. I refused the coumidan.

I took asprin.

We were told that the pace maker only worked when I was in afib. It

was because of this group that I asked the doctor and found out the

doctor burned the node and that my heart won't beat without it.

I must say that today I'm happy with my way of life. The only thing I

dislike is doctors messing with adjusting the pacemaker. One time

they turned off the top chambers of my heart to keep it out of afib.

That didn't work and I felt awful. This was done on Friday on Monday

I had the tech fix it. Then the doctor put a govern on. This only let

me walk like an 80 year old slow. This was the word of the tech.At

this time I was 55 and had lots of engery. The tech set it to beat at

the top end at 140. Since then they have adjust the top end to 160.

This last pacemaker check they have me having 10 afibs attacks a day.

I was put on coumidan and I never complained.

The afib attacks are not bad. They last less then a minute. At this

time I have finally accepted that the specialist was correct on

puting the pacemaker in. My only problem is that since I have the

duel pacemaker they like to train people on me when I go into the

office for the check. The last time the trainee turned my pace maker

off. I come to being helped up off the floor. The only good to come

out of that was if the pace maker stops I will never know!! There

are +++'s to that I guess.

I will list my pill I'm on now. It is only half of what I was on.

Sorry this is so long but your list has helped me so much to

understand what is happening to me. I only hope I can help people

feel at ease with their pacemaker. I have not been in the hospital

since it was inplanted. Most of the afib goes on without me knowing

or just last for seconds. The pacemaker keeps a record of eveything

your heart does. On the six month office call they read all the

information and know what your heart is doing.

I'm having more afib attacks now then before but as I said it never

stops me from doing anything. It is a comfort that the pacemaker

stops the attack and sets the heart to the correct beat.

Sorry again for the length.

Judy

here is my list of pills

Coumidan

vioxx

synthroid

accupril

sotalol

spironalact

zocor

buspirone

pepcid

k-dur

nexium

neurontin