Pacemaker Mediated Tachycardia

[tibetan36]

I had a RF Ablation last November! All went well although I experienced a few what I call "tremors" since then. I had a check up recently with the cardiologist and Pacemaker Technician. The result was an episode of Pacemaker-Mediated Tachycardia...has anyone else heard of this or experienced it?

[Costa-Del-Solway]

Not heard of that, I also have a PM, I used to get funny sensations during the night and found out it was the PM doing self testing at a certain time.

Do you use pacemakerclub.com it might be worth asking the question on their.

Tom

[tibetan36 in reply to Costa-Del-Solway]

Hi Tom! I am on the PM Club so will check there! Thanks

[mumknowsbest Volunteer]

Hi,

I have a pacemaker, and get tachycardia but haven't heard it called anything.

Eileen

[tibetan36 in reply to mumknowsbest]

Hi mumknowsbest!

What happened in lay terms was my PM took over and made my heart race to its calculations......bit scary however a quick adjustment by the PM tech made sure it will not happen again.

Namaste

Barry

[gillyflower13]

Hello Tibetan 36 - I am very interested to hear that you have had ablation to control af, Can I ask you - do you have a pacemaker? I also suffer from AF and have numerous admissions to hospital as a result of this heart condition. I was informed that I would not be able to undergo an ablation because of the pacemaker. I would be interested to read your comments. gillyflower 13

[Hidden in reply to gillyflower13]

Hi gillyflower13,Just to let you know I had pacemaker fit last June and ablation done last August,the EP( said before I had anything done)It dosent matter in which order they are done argzxoni

[tibetan36 in reply to gillyflower13]

Hi gillyflower13

Yes I do have a pacemaker! It was installed in January 2013 because of Bradycardia where my pulse would drop to 40 bpm's. So the pacemaker controls that ok except for the episode of PMMT. However the Tachycardia was controlled to begin with Amioderone which worked for a while then failed. My Cardiologist sent me for an assessment to the EP man who deals with the electrics of the heart and said a Radio Frequency Ablation should solve all of the problems as well he said it doesn't matter if you have a pacemaker. They had the pacemaker technician there to put it into safe mode whilst they did the 4 hour operation.. This op took place in November last year with the results being a success at the moment. It takes at least 6 months to determine if it is successful or not. Like you I was having numerous visits to the ED with AF in fact the Ambos had my address in their favourites on their GPS so they could make a speedy arrival lol. My heart rate hit 285 on regular occasions and I was in hospital weekly usually for 6 hours to check there was no damage to my heart from the AF. Now I have had the ablation there has been no visits to the ED. I can see no reason why you cannot have an ablation even though you have a pacemaker.

Namaste

Barry

[Offcut]

I am seeing a cardiologist early April to discuss when they are going to do a "pace and ablate" Which they say would mean a pacemaker fitted and then a few months later they would ablate my AV Node which then would make me pacemaker dependant.

My only problem I have a lung condition too. Which I had a lung specialist do lots of tests and then sent me a letter that did not match on dates and stated I already had a pacemaker? Which I do not! So I have called and stated my concerns as they should be sending that to my cardiologist. they are going to look into it and amend to the correct info

[tibetan36 in reply to Offcut]

I am sorry to hear about your situation Offcut! I feel great now I have a pacemaker and the ablation done. No more shortness of breath on exertion and chest soreness! Gee some can get their facts mixed up which sounds frustrating for you. At least you were able to sort it out and I guess give some peace of mind at this stage

Namaste

Barry.

[Offcut in reply to tibetan36]

I also have 57% lung function and PAH which is blamed for my shortness of breath on exertion does the pacemaker sort the PAH or only the beating part?

[tibetan36]

I believe the pacemaker stops the heart rate dropping below a level that is set by your cardiologist or EP so I guess it has nothing to do with making your heart actually beat!

I believe I may stand corrected on that statement.

[anneliz]

Yes, I had this. I went into A&E a couple of years ago with very fast af, medicated then into a ward to wait till I returned to sinus rhythm. I was just trying to get some rest, eyes shut, when the nurse asked me if I was feeling okay! Well, not now, I said, what's up! There was a lot of rushing around getting me more meds and taking loads more aspirin. They told me I was in a 'funny rhythm' . Anyway, long story short, my cardiologist's registrar, a very bright lad, identified it as pacemaker mediated tachycardia. I was shipped off to the cardiac ward where he put the pacemaker sensor over my pacemaker, twiddled a few dials on the machine and my rate just dropped to about 90 (had been over 200) and then into sinus. I've never had it since. It's basically: endless-loop tachycardia, is used to refer to a form of a reentrant tachycardia and can occur in patients who have dual-chamber pacemakers. If you google the phrase, you'll get a bit more detail. Hope that helps.

Anneliz