my dad is busy finding out results from Mom's mri and I don't want to ask Grandma a lot of questions

so if any of you know of someone who has or if you have had a pacemaker put in recently, I have questions

Grandma mentioned that now that her pacemaker is in the doctor will have to do a 2nd procedure to stop her heart so the pacemaker will take over...did I hear her right?

she's 91 on St. Paddy's Day

luv, my wife's grandmother has a pacemaker and my mother is under consideration for one in the future. I will do more checking, but it's my understanding that a pacemaker does just that - sets the pace. In my mother case, where she has atrial fibrilation (abnormal heart rhythm - quivering/fluttering), it would be to regulate her heart rate. I don't ever recall hearing of a procedure to stop the heart so the pacemaker will take over. It is simply to provide electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rhythm - by speeding it up or slowing it down. They can also monitor other things, such as blood temp and breathing rate in order to adjust the heart rate according to changes in a person's activity.

As soon I get in touch with my brother-in-law, I'll find out about "stopping" the heart - but I doubt that's the case.

http://www.heartbeatmd.com/FAQs/faq%20pacemakers.htm 

c3s

or this > www.muschealth.com/gs/heartcontent.aspx?action=showpage&pageid=p07980

Mrs. Pacman's mother got a pacemaker not too long before she passed away. She had many health problems over the years, and we weren't surprised, but I know Mrs. Pacman still took it hard. I could ask her if no one else can help you, but I'd rather avoid doing so if you can get the answer from someone else here. She passed away before Christmas 2008, and I don't know how touchy a subject that might be.

If you can't get an answer from someone by early evening, ping me, and I'll ask Mrs. Pacman.

thank you Shoe

and others for the links

pacman- I'll look at the links provided. I'd rather you don't remind her of painful memories....just the good ones:) thank you!

hmmmm I'll have to ask my aunt some questions tomorrow after Grandma's appt.

she already had the pacemaker inserted, but it sounds like it isn't activated yet...they have to do this other procedure through her vein in her leg

all I know is that Dad said they had to kill some nerves

and then she said they will "stop her heart" so her pacemaker takes over

thank you for your help with my questions

I was just a little worried after talking to her this morning...

She's pretty tough. I just don't want to go there if doing so would be redundant.

it's okay, pac

I'll ask my aunt or be patient

it's not like I can do anything for her other than pray anyway

My BIL is a director of nursing at a very nice adult care facility and I'm sure he's familiar with this procedure. He'll know.

^ I've got a call into him as we speak.

thank you so much, SHOE!:)

You bet!

The "killing of nerves" as you said, is a procedure called cardiac ablation. My girlfriend as well as my mother have both had it. Here's a link to explain it.

http://www.hrspatients.org/Patients/treatments/cardiac_ablation.asp 

The pacemaker will be set at a certain beats per minute(bpm), if her heart falls below this level then the pacemaker will simulate her heart back to the desired bpm.

This is just my best educated guess, as I do not know more about her.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Luv,

I spoke with my BIL. I may not have some of this exactly right and he is not a doctor, but he said YES, that they do a 2nd procedure called a Cardioversion. This is what is typically done to get the heart back into a normal rhythm. A standard pacemaker serves as a pacemaker/defibrilator. It will pulse the heart as needed if it gets out of rhythm or shock it if a cardiac event ensues. He indicated the 2nd procedure your grandmother mentioned is done to mometarilly stop the heart (just for a very short time) so the pacemaker/defibrilator can activate and start the normal rhythm. He said that it is a very common procedure in the elderly, it's monitored very closely, but as with most things medically or surgically, the more advanced age the more risk of complication.

I would guess the cardiologist could better explain, but I hope this helps.

If you are not happy with the info you have, my uncle is a cardiologist. I'll be glad to ask him for you.

I'll be dipped. They need to stop the heart to start the pacemaker? What, do they pull a starter cord on them or something?

Freaky.

^

My thoughts, exactly.

SHOE- thank you very much....I imagined it may be something of that sort, but the explanation helps me to deal with it for some reason. I know the doctors are right there, but the idea isn't too fun to think about.

please keep Grandma in your prayers...I'm still hoping I'll be able to get things together to see her again and introduce her to the kids

I'm kind of having a hard time with this, but she is a tough lady

You and your grandmother have my prayers as you look for answers.

My mother, whose 81, has A-fib and struggles with irregularities, meds, etc. She hasn't gotten to the pacemaker yet, but it may come to pass real soon. My wife's grandmother got one some years back and it improved her quality of life drastically. Stay positive.