Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
653065 tn?1224184179

Dizzy/Lightheaded with Pacemaker

Hello all.  I'm 29 years-old and just recently had a pacemaker put in in August.  During the third trimester of my pregnancy I was experiencing severe lightheadedness and dizziner and my OB kept writing it off as hormones and that it should get better once I have the baby.  I have the baby in July and still have the severe symptoms so I go to my PCP and he does a physical and says everything looked good but to still go see a cardiologist and neurologist to be safe.  Go see the cardiologist and they have me wear a holter monitor for 30 days.  The 26 day I got a call from my cardiologist telling me to not be driving and that I would have to have a pacemaker installed because my heartbeat was down in the low 20's and it paused for 7.5 seconds.  I got the pacemaker but am still lightheaded and dizzy.  Sometimes I'll get to where it comes and goes and there have been a couple instances where I'm sitting down talking and I'll lose focus and get really dizzy and then get a warm sensation on my head, chest and hands.  My neurologist thinks I might have a little anxiety but I tried the Zoloft thing and it didn't help.  I switched from a cardiologist to an electrophysiologist and I've only seen him once and am due back in a couple weeks but he said that usually patients think that getting the pacemaker will make the symptoms go away but it doesn't and he has to tweak it the way it's going to work for my body.  I'm about ready to lose it b/c I've been dealing with this for the last 8 months and just want to be able to enjoy my 3 month-old and 3 1/2 year-old and not worry about why I'm feeling like this.  Has anyone else been through this??  Sorry for the book.  
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
In the beginning times of having a pacemaker, it can take some adjustments.  Tell your EP md about the symptoms.  A 7.5 second pause is very significant, but THAT shouldn't happen anymore.  Are you set at a base rate of 60?  Is your pacer rate responsive?  They usually are any more and they are GREAT.  I got mine for bradycardia and pauses (and stopped) caused by the heart medicines.  It has made life a LOT easier.  Mostly, it has made me be not dead yet and I guess you can't beat that.  Once you get it adjusted to you, you won't even really notice it much except to know it is doing its job saving your life day after day.
Helpful - 0
728243 tn?1258383456
About the ticker.  I don't know how to change that.  Obviously I do not have the goal of gainin up to 260 pounds though I may have already done that over Christmas.  I hope I can edit it.  Maybe I will just delete it and start over.
Helpful - 0
728243 tn?1258383456
I haven't been through what you are going through but sure hope you have found someone who can help by now.  I have a granddaughter who will be three soon and I want to feel better for her.  My daughter (her mother) is the one who told me about dysautomonia.  She put it this way, "Mom, you better tell your doctors, your dentists and any of your health care workers that you have dysautonomia before one of them kills you."  I said, "What is dysautonomia."  That was this Christmas so now I am looking for someone in our area who is a specialist.  I haven't found anyone so I think I will be my own "speicalist" until that time.  I'm trying to learn what I can.  Maybe we can share anything new we find in our area.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Community

Top Heart Disease Answerers
159619 tn?1707018272
Salt Lake City, UT
11548417 tn?1506080564
Netherlands
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.