Hi all. I have a friend in his 70s who has just had a pacemaker fitted for a heart arrhythmia......and been diagnosed with Left bundle block. He was absolutely fine up until recently, except he had been getting a few palpitations and then passed out briefly and hit his head on the floor. He is just out of hospital after having his pm fitted and his arrhythmia has worsened. Obviously he is very worried. He went back to the hospital this week and is awaiting further guidance.
Has this happened to anyone else who has had a pm fitted? It seems there are different types of pm... not sure why. Reassurance would be great.
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Lizty
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Husband has had LBB for 45 plus years. He’s now 77. Not a pill in sight then suddenly blue lighted to hospital in April, the lower chambers of his heart had ceased to function. No-one mentioned LBB and he is now fine with pacemaker although I think he tired more easily
That sounds like what happened to an older friend, but his blackouts were caused by his AF. I have mild LBBB and gather it can eventually worsen and weaken the heart's left ventricle especially in the presence of high blood pressure. I've been given losartan for this as a "cardioprotective", even though my BP is normal. I'm a bit worried that when I come to have to take bisoprolol for my AF, then my BP might drop too low.
Yes... I am pretty sure my friend had high blood pressure but was in denial. He used to say that his bp shot up when it was taken at the doctor's and blamed that on 'white coat' syndrome! My own blood pressure is normal at 120 over 70 at its highest, but gets lower when I am tired. So bisoprolol is a no no for me . I have been advised by my gp to eat a packet of crisps or salted peanuts if I think my bp is getting too low!
Your friend might be right as when I last saw my cardiologist mine was 145/85 - unheard of for me and he said to ignore it and to take it at home with three measurements a minute or two apart. He was right, at home it does vary but its ranged from 112-140 / 60-80. I was told to start 1.25mg bisoprolol if the AF begins again which, fortunately, it hasn't.
If his arrhythmia has worsened since the pacemaker he might need his settings changed or as I found the rate response function (which increases rate when the pacemaker thinks you are climbing a hill but not !) was making it worse so I had it switched off. He needs to talk to the pacing team and have the settings checked.
I’m exactly the same. Pacemaker implanted 3 years ago and seems to work well. I had three falls but survived. I’m much slower now and just keep taking the pills. Ian also insulin dependant diabetic for 3 years. Just be good friends. That’s what helps the most.
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