arrhytmias post pacemaker implantation

[heather_lvn]

My mother had her pacemaker replaced in March 09  She went for a pacemaker check today.  She has had arrhytmias the past several months so she has an appt next week to see her doc.  What causes arrhytmias even when you have a pacemaker.  Is this normal?  Pacemakers are supposed to treat this, right?  

[JoKelly]

Thank you Jerry.  I think that many of us, having been through the mill of most of the other options, and ending up after all that with a pacemaker, would benefit from the experiences of others, although we are all different in response and sensation.

I will take up your suggestion and start a thread with the above for collecting some experiences of pacemaker implantion.  I, for one, would like to hear that this exhaustion is only temporary....

[Jerry_NJ]

Wishing the best and hope you will start a new thread to share your experience.  Might start that thread under a subject like "My experience with a pacemaker" or something more specific like "Pacemaker treatment of atrial fibrillation" something specific to you experience.  I for one would benefit.

You could introduce and then cut/past/edit you reply above for a starter.  

A lady friend underwent open heart surgery to repair/replace two heart valves and to do a mini maze to stop atrial fibrillation.  She has been in the hospital for the past 10 days due to complications and had a pacemaker installed a few days back to address low heart rate.  This, new to me, is due to swelling due to surgery and the swelling is restricting heart beat signals to the ventricle muscles - it is our hope that when the swelling goes down the pacemaker will not be needed.  It was a first to me to hear of a too slow HR associated with atrial fibrillation - but here it seems it is due to surgery not Afib... albeit that was the symptom she suffered from that precipitated the surgery.  She is relatively young, under 55, don't remember her exact age, but much younger than me.  I had my heart surgery at age 67 and had no complications.

[JoKelly]

Had mine implanted about four weeks ago and I feel utterly exhausted most of the time, having night palpitations and difficulty sleeping.  I do hope this is temporary as I wouldn't like to think I am not going to feel better than I do at present.

As I understand it, a pacemaker will not cure atrial arrthymias, only mitigate their effect.  Certainly if the ventricular heartrate is too slow, then it will pace it up, but on the other hand, if there is atrial arrhythmia, then (after all else failing and the pacemaker implant) they can only ablate the connection between the upper and lower chambers (AV node) and the pacemaker will take over the entire heart, leaving the arrthymia to do its worst but unable to transmit to the lower heart and cause chaos as before.  This (I am told) will make the symptoms of arrhythmia tolerable for me.  Watch this space!  I am due to go back in for the AV node ablation very soon.  I am unsure about continuing medication (Flecainide, Bisoprolol - again I think it is just individual response to treatment.

[Jerry_NJ]

There are many reasons for pacemakers.  One is to cut in when the HR gets too low.  I believe this is done in some applications and leaves the heart signal/timing functioning (otherwise one is completely Pacemaker dependent).  In this case any existing arrhythmia would just continue.  Perhaps someone who has a better understanding will also respond.