Leadless pacemaker anyone?

[Samphoto]

Hello everyone,

I hope we are all having some pleasure from the sunshine today.

I’ve been told my next update will be to change over to a leadless pacemaker.

Has anyone got one and can reassure me of how great and better these might be?

Apparently my vein is too narrow to put another wire down as I’ll need a wire change in next 1-5 years. I’ve just had my first box/battery change infer general to pop it under the muscle this time, so thought I had another 10 years again before needing to worry about another op.

Im only 50 so they said better for long term as they can be removed when needing replacing. He showed me one and how it screws in. A very neat gold bullet or pen cartridge shape with ‘teeth’ like parts at the attachment end. He was quite reassuring at the time bit now I’m a bit worried and wondered who else has one.

Thanks for reading!

[Holtyd]

Good morning to you, Sam.

I have a leadless pacemaker. I had it put in three weeks ago and I’m absolutely fine. I’m so thankful I had this device instead into the chest under the collarbone. If you click on my name you can read all my posts and message me if you’ve got any questions at all.

[Samphoto in reply to Holtyd]

Thank you so much for replying, I’ll have a read now x

[L8Again]

Ninety percent smaller than a traditional pacemaker with a battery life up to 16 years; no scarring and home the same day with minimal restrictions on what you can do physically after fitment. Recently, they have a fitted a newly developed lead-less pacemaker to a baby with cardiac problems.

northamptongeneral.nhs.uk/N...

The first lead-less pacemaker was fitted to a patient in Mt Sinai Hospital in 2014. Ten years plus of knowledge to know how they compare to a traditional pacemaker.

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

[Samphoto in reply to L8Again]

Thank you for those links. Good to read good stuff!

[jacksonfan]

I was in St. Thomas' 2017, some American was teaching / trying to sell them a leadless ICD. It went in the stomach cavity and was apparently bullet-shaped. As the last reply said, they've had plenty of time to develop it and sort out problems. Oh, and I was imprisoned in hospital for 6 weeks because a lead in my ICD broke. This sounds much better.....Good luck.

[Samphoto in reply to jacksonfan]

Yes thank you for that reply, I do see the benefit of no more leads and having to worry or be aware at least, of the box being squished under seatbelts/sleeping funny/wires going and all that brings with it.

So yes once over the anxious process of having it put in there, I think it’s the worry of it being dislodged/them releasing it before it’s secured and it wizzing off around your body/and other such imagined things. If we do lots of start jumps will we jingle if more than one in there over time!? (Joking on the last one.. a bit)

One must focus on how lucky we are to have these opportunities to be fixed up. It’s so easy to think of the what it’s rather than the positives sometimes