100% pacing

[Jill222]

Hi I'm new here. I have had a icd for 10 years and have kept well. On my last box change due to new battery I have been told I am now 100% pacing. Does anyone else on here have this and how do you cope

Thanks Jill

[skid112 Heart Star]

Hello Jill, welcome to the forum. My admittedly limited knowledge about icds it would seem that your heart beat is too slow and the icd kicks in before every beat.

There is a threac on icds here healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

A lot of lovely members have icds hopefully one will be along shortly with their own experiences

Take care Mark

[Jill222 in reply to skid112]

Thank you

[Spatz76]

Hi Jill222

I have an ICD implanted which is about three months old now but I did have a pacemaker implanted in March this year before it was upgraded to the ICD in July (don't ask! :)) So, I've got about 7 months of experience and good quality heart data now.

I have a complex arrthymia but predominately bradycardia and my natural resting heart rate was often in the 40s. My ICD pacing "kicks" in when my heart rate would drop below 50 bpm. This is currently around 45% of the time in the top chamber and significantly less in the bottom.

I am particularly interested in this number as I have recently started to take beta blockers to try and reduce my tachycardia. I was worried that that would increase my pacing %. It hasn't so far, but it also hasn't stopped my tachycardia so perhaps this will change the longer I take them. I was just a bit worried about needing my battery changed more frequently.

When I asked the arrthymia nurse about the pacing % he did say that over time hearts can get "lazy" anyway and pacing requirements can, on occasion increase. Perhaps this is what’s happened to you? I suspect it will happen to me just based on my personality lol.

The nurse didn't seem particularly concerned that an ICD would have to pace 100% of the time, as they don't fail to pace so I'm assuming you shouldn't feel any different to what you normally do. I personally don't notice when my ICD is pacing as opposed to when it isn’t and its working reasonably hard at 45%.

What kind of things are you worried about?

Take care

Spatz76 x

[Jill222 in reply to Spatz76]

Thank you it's so nice to hear other peoples experiences

[Spatz76 in reply to Spatz76]

P.S. this website explains 100% pacing really well....

pacemakerplus.com/pacemaker...

[Heartlady1 in reply to Spatz76]

Hi Spatz.. this is a great piece thanks so much for sharing. I will be having my first check up in 2 weeks so it's great to understand beforehand.. . And so will know what they mean when they tell me about my pacing.

Thanks again 😀

[Jill222 in reply to Spatz76]

Hi the main things I am worried about is continuing to work as I have read you get very tired. Also if I do to much will my pacemaker be able to cope. Thanks for your replies and concerns x

[Spatz76 in reply to Jill222]

Hi

Don’t worry, your pacemaker will be able to cope. I’m assuming because you are pacing at 100% your pacemaker will have had the rate response function “activated” (if that’s the right word) which will be programmed to increase your heart rate as you need it.

I‘m by no means an expert but funnily enough I’ve been introduced to rate response only this week. I have been struggling with breathlessness when walking short distances so I contacted my pacemaker clinic to discuss. The pacemaker technician activated the rate response for me and it’s been brilliant. I immediately could walk about without any problems or breathlessness. They did say they could tweak things further if necessary so I need to keep an eye on how I feel. It’s obviously a bit of trial and error with these things and I’ve learned from this that I should listen to my body and keep in contact with the pacemaker clinic until I’m feeling OK.

Below is a link I found this week about rate response that I felt explained it really well at a level I could understand and will hopefully give you some comfort your pacemaker has it all under control. 😊

pacemakerplus.com/how-does-...

Spatz76 x

[Jill222 in reply to Spatz76]

Hi thanks for your help. I have a check up at icd clinic in 3 weeks and will ask the questions raised. I have found it difficult getting any info from anywhere. This forum and yourself have been really helpful. Thanks