Pacemakers

[sab]

I am a 56-year-old male.  I have had chronic afib for 9 years, have progressed through all of the available medications and have visited Mayo Clinic twice for catheter ablations focusing on the pulmonary veins.  Because of my age and general health, my cardiologists here and at Mayo are opposed to my desire to consider a pacemaker.  I have been unable to find any information about how to evaluate whether a pacemaker is a viable option for me, but the course I am on does not seem at the moment to hold a final answer to my problem.  Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Melissa]

Drea, Can you e-mail me? The address is [email protected]  I will tell you about my son who fainted in November 2000 and his final diagnosis. Melissa

[Emmaj]

Please try to post your questions to the doctor! Try in the morning! You both posted comments to someone else's question and the doctor won't answer you when you post comments! It sounds like both of you really need better medical advice!!!!  To Wingtip: I think elevated heart rates aren't too good even if they are asymptomatic, this because they make the heart muscle work harder to pump. A lot of heart meds slow the heart rate to try to prevent this. I'm surprised digoxin doesn't keep your heart rate down... but what do I know? It's important to get a real answer! To Drea, it really sounds like you need a better opinion than the one your primary care doctor gave you!  Any mother would be terrified! It sounds like it would be a good thing to see the pediatric cardiologist again, but if you need a referral, go see another primary care doctor for one or take your son to the emergency room. Wow! Good luck both of you!

[Drea]

It started 2 years ago when my son who was 15 years old at the time started to pass out. He would complain of chest pains his heart would be pounding out of his chest sweating,high blood pressure at the time of attack.We had him in the hospital they could not find anything wrong with him other than blood pressure would go up at times. We finaly went to a pediatric cardiologist and he gave him a stress test and a tilt table test. He did not pass out when giving the tilt table test. But after his stress test we came home and there he fell and passed out. He was very scared and so where me and my husband. They diagnosed him with vasolvagal syncope. They gave him medicined for the syncope. But he went off of it. He is doing better. He hasnt passed out in about 8 months.He finds that if he drinks alot of water he feels better.The reason im writting is that my other son who will be 14 in a couple of months is having the same symptons.The one thing that my son who was diagnosed did not have done was the heart monitor. He had the blood pressure on for 48 hours. Im terrified. My other son was rushed home by the school councelor for chest pains. He feels same symptons. Palpations, chest pain, dizzy ness, numbness in hands. The symptons are acurring about 4 times a day. I had him two my family doctor who gave him a ekg and said it was fine. And she also did blood work and said it is fine. She said she thought it was his stomach.His stomach didnt even have discomfort. I told them about my other son. So i guess on my own i will call the ped cardiologist that helped my other son. I could only assume its the same thing. Help!!

[wingtip]

I am a 37 year old male with a-fib treated for the past two years.  Two cardioversions later and a try with rythemal has left me taking dig, coumidin, and metropalol twice a day.  I have just changed cardiologists(first one left practice) and this one feels that my rate is too high and has mentioned abblation and pace maker.  My heart rate during moderate exercise is high 170's , with bursts over 220.  I only have felt discomfort twice, and both times my polor moniter was spiked over 240.  By the same token, when I lay down on the couch, my rate stays in the 40's and sometimes drops into the 30's, although I feel no symptems.  The holter moniter bears out these readings.  The EP I saw put me on the dig, but didn't even do an EKG, he relied on the file sent by my first cardiologist.  This seems radical to me, especially since I do not seem to be overly tired.  My GP feels it is a safe rythm, and thinks we should tweak the meds.  Has anyone out there gone the pacemaker route?  Is there a downside to having a fast rate, with no obvious side effects?

[CCF-M.D.-DLB]

An ablation could be performed to destroy the connectin between your fibrillating atrium and the main pumping chamber of the heart. A pacemaker could then be used to regulate your heart rate. Your atrium would still be fibrillating (a remain a risk factor for stroke) but you would not feel it. I agree with the doctors at Mayo and recommend this option only as a last resort.