Pacemaker for low heart rate

[Lj42dj40]

My mother-in-law was recently hospitalized for a low heart rate of 30 pm and the doctor put in a pacemaker. She had a stroke about two years ago and suffers from aphasia. She is still in the hospital recovering from the surgery but seems to be experiencing a lot of pain. My brother-in-law thinks she is acting as if she is being repeatedly shocked. He wanted to know if this is possible. My mother-in-law also suffers from atrial fibrillation. Is it possible she is being repeatedly shocked and if so, what can be done?

[Bromley]

Hi, from what I understand, one of the more common methods of detecting a need for shock is to process the signal as follows.  Measure the magnitude of the peak, then apply exponential decay from that point using some programmable time constant. Shock when the result is less than some programmable threshold. This is basically seeking a low amplitude signal, such as would be the result of v-fib or some other low amplitude disorganized signal.

In other words, a shock is applied when the rate is low and/or when the signal average is low in some sense.

Yep. Talk to the doctor about your concerns.

[itdood]

What was used?  Was it an Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD), or just a pacemaker?  pacemakers don't deliver enough current to cause a visible shock.  An ICD could, but only during course v-fib.  the energy from an ICD to correct v-tach is very low.

Great questions for her doc though, I would bring it up with them.