Pacemaker for AFib

[ratcheva]

My Drug-resistant Symptomatic Paroxysmal Atrial fibrillation cannot be treated with catheter ablation, so I was recommended to get a dual-chamber Medtronic Azure XT pacemaker for treatment of AFib.

Does anybody have experience with this PM?

[BobD Volunteer]

Pacemakers alone will not normally stop AF but they do allow soem different drugs to be used. If you go for pace and ablate where the AV node is ablated then things can be more normal.

[ratcheva in reply to BobD]

Thanks, Bob I agree basically with your comment.

However, I am asking about Medtronic Azure XT dual chamber pacemaker, because it has a special algorithm to treat AFib. It is called ATP (Atrial Tachycardia Pacing) algorithm. Medtronic claims "40% reduced risk of persistent AFib" with it.

No need for AV ablation, since it works well in my case.

Please see the link:

europe.medtronic.com/xd-en/...

So I am trying to find out if it is working well in real life.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to ratcheva]

CDreamer had a DCPM fitted as the first stage of P and A but her AF was so much improved she never went for the AV node ablation. She may comment later.

[CDreamer]

I have a Medtronic Percepta which is a completely different animal and is 3 chamber Re-synchronisation Pacemaker.

All I can say is best thing I ever did. I think the type of pacemaker must at the discretion of the consultant. In my case it was thought that a 2 chamber PM would greatly increase my risk of developing Heart Failure because with only one ventricle paced, the chances of the ventricles going out of sync were high, leading to reduced EF. My AV node still paces my heart for about 90% of the time and the AF chaotic signals still get through to my ventricles but I am SO much less symptomatic and now only get AF when I have infection.

I think the development in the tech since my implant has been significant and the Azure looks to be very promising as it was developed specifically to treat AF. It looks to be a similar size and shape to the Percepta. My implant has all the BlueTooth Tech the Azure has and it’s brilliant but you do need to keep the app on your phone open all the time and your smart phone close to you. I got a slapped wrist from the Physiologist for closing the app.

Don’t know if that will help. Maybe someone who has had Azure device fitted will jump in.

[ratcheva]

Thanks Bob and CD Dreamer for the useful information!

[Diddyd]

I have a Medtronic Solara CRT fitted last year with node ablation. It has improved a lot of my symptoms but I am still in AF. My atria are enlarging and am getting some leaky valve now. This is due to the AF. I did not have this a year ago so am not entirely happy!

Don’t think the PM you mention was an option at the time but would definitely think seriously about it from what you say.

If it works as good as a CRT and that extra feature does not really work, then you have lost nothing. But if all works as it says then a real bonus.

I worry that not being able to stop the AF, even though I cannot feel it, is going to give me more problems in the long run. So I would probably go for it.

[Flyer2820]

Hi ratcheva,My wife has had a pacemaker fitted as she sometimes would collapse when getting up in the night or early morning.

It was discovered that she had af and heart disease. She has been far better after the pacemaker was fitted and doesn't seem to be suffering from af anymore. Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Regards Flyer.

[loudeanna]

Had the azure placed 4 weeks ago. So far it has worked great

[DueNorth]

I was fitted with the Azure DCPM in late Sept 21. I had been having AF episodes every couple of days, each lasting several hours. However the PM was mainly to address pauses which had been causing feelings of near collapse.

I had sort of hoped the AF might benefit as a 'side effect' but the pauses were my main concern. The pauses seem to have stopped, and, to my pleasant surprise, until recently the AF episodes almost disappeared. I've had a couple of episodes recently, but the main outcome is that any episode I do have seems to terminate after a very short time. Having been used to12 hour episodes this has been a revelation.

[ratcheva in reply to DueNorth]

Thanks for the information DueNorth! Which model Azure you have?AZURE XT DR which has exclusive algorithms to manage atrial fibrillation (AF)? or you have AZURE S DR which has no such feature?

[DueNorth]

Hi Ratcheva. It's the S DR. My Sister in Law is a radiologist and raised the issue of compatibility in case of needing an MRI scan any time, so I was more interested in that at the time.