has any one been fitted with a pacemaker and still get AF. I have been and still get AF.

[laligags]

[Hidden]

I'm due for a pacemaker (probably), but I though this was just to stop your ticker going too slow, not to stop AF? Not sure, but that's how I understand it. Would like to know as well.

[BobD Volunteer]

Yes you will because the pacemaker only p[aces the ventricle not the atria. You will still get the atria fibrillating and feel that going on but will have a stable paced pulse. This came up last week as well.

Bob

[franksavage in reply to BobD]

would that make the AF a little less uncomfortable Bob? Having the Pacemaker?

[BobD Volunteer in reply to franksavage]

You would still have the flutter feeling but since the ventricle is paced you would not have the fainting and hopefully not the fatigue.

Bob

[franksavage in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob anything that lessens that af the better!

[realdon]

I was fitted with a pacemaker in January this year but continue to have paroxysmal AF. The pacemaker was fitted because the 7 day tape revealed that when coming out of an episode of AF my heart was pausing for between 3 and 10 seconds which was causing the faints which I had been experiencing. I continue to have AFbut no longer have dizziness. The AF is at present well controlled by Flecainide and Bisoprolol but the EPs are keen that I should have an ablation but so far I have been reluctant. As has been pointed out elsewhere, the pacemaker has additional advantages including the fact that it records details of the AF episodes that I have. This data can provide objective evidence to the experts rather than relying on patient memory.

[Evefay in reply to realdon]

Wow, this sounds like me. I was due for cardioversion this month but opted to wait as i have only had one time in afib and that was caught on ekg on my consult with EP but i am having so many slow pulses, sometimes as low as 30 bpm but for short times, maybe 3-5 minutes. I have an appt 5/15 for a followup and what to talk about a pm. I have used a pulse oximeter to record my pulse and sometimes my average pulse will be in the low to mid 40's. Do you have any suggestions for me. Thanks in advance.

[Patricia1]

I asked a similar question here a short while ago and there were some very interesting replies. I have the same problem of presyncope (near faint) when I come out of AF and a pacemaker is one of the options my consultant is considering. I had a 7 day monitor but no AF during that time so I'm waiting for another test as the consultant wants to capture an AF session so that he can see exactly what is happening. The consultant said that a pacemaker would not stop the AF but would solve the problem of the presyncope.

[Hidden in reply to Patricia1]

That is a really unpleasant feeling (near faint). One of the advantages of a pacemaker implant is that it makes me feel safer. I know that it won't cure the AF but it will ensure that my heartbeat is kept at a reasonable level. It's also really useful for the EP to print out a record of your heartbeat over the last few weeks, as has already been mentioned. All best wishes, Carrie

[Hidden in reply to Patricia1]

It may not solve the presyncope as I have it during afib and I've had a pacemaker 29 years.

[mumknowsbest Volunteer]

Hi All, A pacemaker does nothing for the AF at all. As has already been mentioned all it does is stop the heart going tot slowly. When I originally had mine put in it enable me to go on other drugs without the risk of my heart rate going any slower. Unfortunately my AF just got worse. I ended up having an AV~ node ablation so now I am totally pacemaker dependant. My pulse is always normal but I can still feel the af in my chest.

Bob you only ge tthe stable pulse and the af continuing if you have the AV node ablation, just the pacemaker doesnt do anything for the AF

[Hidden]

I was fitted with a pacemaker device in march last year. I have had A/F since 1998, and not one of many combinations has given me any permanent relief from A/F.

A pacemaker does not control A/F!

Ablation could be the answer towards helping folk, but It is not for all of us.

I believe far more research needs to be done, and more medical staff trained to understand our problems especially as we are prone to TIAs and Strokes.

The persons who are diagnosed with A/F should be given all the medication required at once to reduce there Heart rate and be given clot busting medication like Warfarin.

A/F is real, it's not in your mind and it's not because your of a anxious personality.

Before being diagnosed way back in the 90s that was always my Doctors remarks, (are you worrying etc etc)

Thank goodness we have moved on from there, but there is lots more to do to tackle A/F.

[CDreamer in reply to Hidden]

Interesting that the pacemaker didn't help any of you re AFib, which has answered a question my husband asked recently. He is waiting to have one implanted and has been told there is a 'possibility' it may help the AFib as there are quite a lot of programme settings they can try which may influence the AFib but what it will do is provide constant monitoring so that the medics will have continuous and on-going monitoring.

The type that has been recommended has a lead into the atria as well as the ventricle Bob, we may have misunderstood but I got the distinct impression that it will also pace the atria although this may or may not have an affect on the AFib - as already mentioned above.

[Garywf]

I have had a pacemaker since 2008 and still get AF. The device doesn't prevent AF it's role is to prevent the heart from beating too slowly & medication is used to control fast heart rate. In my case this is Sotalol. This approach is called "Rate Control" and manages the problem rather than eliminating it.

My pacemaker has dual leads, one is connected into the right atrium & the other into the right ventricle. The electrical pulses to the heart are timed so that the atria are stimulated before the ventricles to ensure they are beating in sync with one another.