Palpations at the same time every night

[pacemakerire]

I have a pacemaker crt device as of May 2023 for heart failure. I previously had a pacemaker (not crt) since 2016 for complete heart block. The causes for both are unknown. I was 18 when I got my first pacemaker and 25 when I got the CRT.

Since I got the crt device, every single night at 11:59pm, I get strong palpations and feel very lightheaded. This happens at exactly 11:59pm. I spoke to my cardiologist about it and he said that there is a setting on the pacemaker that does this but mine is turned off (I'm unsure of what the setting is called). He said he's unsure of what's causing it. He said if it doesn't bother me too much to just ignore it. It doesn't exactly cause any problems other than waking me up if I'm asleep and if I am awake it just causes strong discomfort and palpations for about 2 minutes. I put my oximeter on to see what was happening and my heart rate went from resting at 67, then jumped to 89 in a matter of seconds, then back down and up about 3 times then it went back to normal resting in the mid 60s. This whole process happens in the span of around 2 minutes. I'm just wondering does anyone else experience this? And should I be pushing it more with my cardiologist to get this fixed?

[Mart25]

Good morning. Your description sounds like the auto-calibrate feature of your pacemaker. Pacemakers are programmed to do an automatic daily check that it's working correctly. It's a reassuring safety feature and pacemakers usually do the check at the same time daily, and usually at night (so you supposedly don't notice it!). But your cardiologist discussion suggests that autocalibrate is perhaps turned off on your pacemaker?? So things don't quite add up. If I was in your situation I would ask them to look again at the settings. I guess it might be best to keep autocalibrate turned on but they can change the time when it does it - so you might be able to find a better time of day when it's less noticable.

[Cherrelleford]

Hey I have an ICD fitted. Mine causes palpitations at 8.50am every day. It's a little uncomfortable but I'm getting used to it. When I asked at the device clinic they said it's because the device has its own auto self service that it does which is what I'm feeling. It can be turned off but they generally leave it on if it doesn't affect you. Ring your device clinic and see what they say x