Pacemaker Monitor

[Arnika]

I had pacemaker fitted about 18 month ago. I had post- fitting check up month later, but nothing since, No more appointments. No cardiologist appointments to this day. When I called the Pacemaker clinic I was told to wait, that I will hear from them. I was also told on discharge that I will get a Monitor, so my pacemaker can be read long distance from home,, for readings how it works but nothing happened.

As the months passed by I began to have some more symptoms and getting worried, but it is nearly impossible to actually see any GP at my practice, so I was basically left t my own devices.

Eventually after several calls to the hospital I managed to get an appt at pacemaker clinic and this took place last Friday. I was not told much beyond that that the pacemaker and battery are fine. I was also given the Monitor to take home but amazingly they were under impression that I had one already (!!!) which made me wonder how often they check them up.

I have not yet plugged the Monitor, as yet, because I would like some more information about it.

So, my QUESTION is:

Does anyone here uses the pacemaker Monitor, and how do you find it.

Does it work for you, and how often they read it in your hospital, do they let you know the results.

Thank you very much for any response

,

[RufusScamp]

I was given a monitor when I had the pacemaker fitted, and shown how to set it up. It is read about every 6 months, and the clinic ring me a couple of days later. to tell me the results. It is much easier than having to go to the hospital, and has not caused me any problems.

[Becksagogo]

Its really easy to set up and to use. The Pacemaker Clinic should be able to help you if you are struggling; just call them. The hospital ring me every 6 months or so to do a remote download. Mine has triggered a couple of alerts when I've had extra fluid collecting around my heart and I take a couple of extra diuretics if deemed necessary. For me, its peace of mind.

[bikerider2022]

HI, I've got a monitor for mine. The pacing clinic set it up and I plugged it in at home. I trust the pacing team to read the downloads. For me, if I felt anything out of the ordinary I'd call 111 or go to A&E rather than wait for the monitor to register it. It's a back-up piece of mind for me.

[Bigheart58]

I’ve also had a monitor since I was discharged from hospital just over two years ago. The hospital carries out a transmission check every six months and they tell me the results. I always make sure they send them to my cardiologist.

I believe that the way it works is that every night while I am asleep the monitor checks the device is working properly and sends a message by WiFi to somewhere in the USA if there is a problem.

It provides additional peace of mind.

[Guernseycow]

I have had 2 monitors the first was just a heart monitor which picked up that my heart was stopping within 24 hrs of me setting it up ,this second one is for the pacemaker and if I am the least bit worried I will ring the hospital to see if they have noticed anything unusual ,I gather they are monitored all the time,and it saves having to go into the hospital to download the information, clever little thing.

[Ella76]

Hi. I had a pacemaker put in 1 yr ago and got a monitor about a week later. It was no problem to set it up as my cardiologist office called me and said I was on line. I had my pacer checked yesterday as my 1 yr check up and the technician doing the check had to call in the doctor. They found 21episodes of AFib and 19 episodes of A flutter and I was never notified. I called them when I got home and asked them why I was not notified.They said the settings from the company were wrong and so did not notify the cardiology staff. I am more than upset as I was told I was in A fib for over 3 hrs. I got the pacemaker for sick sinus syndrom. I wasn't on blood thinners and could have had a stroke. I am now on blood thinners and my sotalol dosage was increased. I am very upset and nervous about this and I think pacer checks should be done more often. I hope no one else has problems like this with their monitors.

[Arnika in reply to Ella76]

Thank you for your response. I am sorry for what you have been through, I am worried that with this kind of electronic monitoring, which is in principle an improvement in terms of catching problems in real time, when there is such pressure on health services, there is more possibility of serious errors of judgment, and technical problems which could be life threatening. I am not sure I trust the system in terms of adequate monitoring. But, there it is, we are in their hands

[Enwau in reply to Arnika]

I have a pacemaker but no monitor . I’ve had it for five years. The last time I went I was told I hadn’t had fibrillation for 2 years but had a few fast heart beats in the middle of the night. I also was told that they didn’t need to see me for two years. I asked if I needed to carry on with the Rivaroxaban and he said not really, but that once they’d put someone on it, it wasn’t policy to take them off it.