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Bi ventricular pacemaker.

Granthamgeezer profile image
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Hello everyone.My cardiologist has recommended I upgrade my 2 lead pacemaker to a 3 lead bi ventricular pacemaker to synchronise the ventricles. Has anyone else had this done and if so what was your experience.? He said that if I stayed with the 2 lead pacemaker my ejection fraction could get gradually worse and an upgrade to a bi ventricular pacemaker would help. I would be grateful for any experiences. Thanks.

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Granthamgeezer
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6 Replies
BeKind28- profile image
BeKind28-

Hello :-)

I am sorry I cannot answer your question but can see you posted 3 months ago and wondered if you had made a decision what to do

The BHF Nurses are always good to talk to if we need some advice I will put their number on in case you ever feel you want to talk to them :-)

Happy Christmas :-) x

Heart Helpline team on 0300 330 3311 Mon-Fri 9-5pm

Granthamgeezer profile image
Granthamgeezer in reply toBeKind28-

Thank you BeKind I will give them a call ad I am still undecided whether to upgrade my pacemaker to a biventricular one if this does not improve my EF. Thanks for the help.

BeKind28- profile image
BeKind28- in reply toGranthamgeezer

Hello :-)

I am sure you will make the right decision for you even though sometimes it can be so hard to do when left with a choice I would rather just be told but I would give them a ring the more information you can get hopefully will help you to decide :-)

Let us know how you get on :-) x

Granthamgeezer profile image
Granthamgeezer in reply toBeKind28-

Thank you for the reply. I will keep you updated.

BeKind28- profile image
BeKind28- in reply toGranthamgeezer

:-) x

Lezzers profile image
Lezzers

Hi Granthamgeezer

Interesting post!! My husband has HF (heart failure) and had his 1 lead ICD upgraded to a bi ventricular pace maker, also known as a CRT, early October. The EP was originally just going to upgrade the ICD to a 2 lead, but apparently doing this could cause further damage to his heart & worsen his HF. His CRT is also a defibrillator, CRT-d, as he's high risk of sudden death. In addition to HF my husband also has bradycardia (slow heart beat) and he now also LBBB which also causes a slow heart beat, as a result his ICD was pacing him too much and this is what can cause the worsening HF. We were told my husband may not notice any difference in how he feels but it will be helping his heart to function better.

Have you had your procedure yet? It's pretty much the same process as having the ICD fitted, though it takes longer as they remove the old device. In my husbands case they reused the existing wire and attached 2 additional wires. It was done as a day job, so he was home the same day. Unfortunately you're likely to be in some pain for a week or so, so have some pain relief on standby, but that will gradually ease. You'll be told no driving for a month (if you're having it fitted as a precaution) and you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy or raising your arm above your head for about 6 weeks.

Hope this helps

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