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Pacemaker for Low Ejection Fraction

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Posted 5/26/2017 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Folks,

2017 is NOT shaping up to be a good year for me. I'm 55 was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January and underwent 42 treatments of IMRT radiation. I've also been dealing with a heart ejection fraction of around 40 with minor stints of atrial flutter the past 5 years BUT it has been controlled with digoxin and zebeta for the most part.
Now all of a sudden my EF is 27 I feel weak and tired and the cardiologist is now saying I should get a pacemaker
(CRT-D) is what he said. My question has anybody with similar issues gone through this? if so DID THE PACEMAKER HELP? I'm not against doing it but I am concerned. My job is physical and I need to be able to do the same thing even with a pacemaker, I'm to old to learn something completely new. I knew one person years ago with some type of pacemaker that shocked the heck out of him when it got out of rhythm. He told me it was very painful. OK I'll wait till a few of you can answer back.. I truly appreciate it.

Thanks
Jay
Posted 5/26/2017 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
Jay, I have to agree with you, 2017 has not been your year. If you will remember I had told you about my husband having a pacemaker put in for bad Afib. This was 2-3 years ago. He was exhausted all the time, I am talking it took a lot for him to walk across the room, plus he was getting very dizzy & was falling a lot!! If he rode down to the store & back he was so tired he would sit in his truck for a good 15 minutes before he could get in the house. He has a Boston Scientist Pacemaker. He has not ever had this shocking sensation thing. He is a pretty big guy & strong as a bull moose, so yeah he is prone to doing some lifting of heavy stuff. My brother had one put in no problems like that either. My brother did have some really bad bruising afterwards, much more than my husbands. We do have a friend that has had a pacemaker a good 20 years or more & none of his ever shocked him either. So, here is 3 examples of guys with pacemakers that have never had the shocking thing. Makes me wonder if the other guys pacemaker was defective.

I would ask the dr about the weights you lift & how frequent at work to just double check things. I know you will be restricted until things heal up so thats another question to ask him.

Take care.
Posted 5/26/2017 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
straydog, Thank you for the kind reply and info. So when your husband received the pacemaker I'm hoping it mad a huge difference in his life by returning some of his strength and being able to walk without felling exhausted and i'll? This is what I am hoping for myself even though I am not as bad as what your husband has gone through. I hope he is much better.

Thanks
Jay
Posted 5/26/2017 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Jay, it sure did make a huge difference. He really was bad off. His cardiologist wanted one put in the year before, but the electric dr as they called him disagreed. He said he wasn't bad enough for one!! Needless to say we were terribly upset over this because he was losing so much ground quickly. He fell in the bedroom one night from dizziness & was wedged between furniture. He was helpless & there was no way I could get him up. I had to call the fire dept to come out here & get him up. That was the final straw. We called & got him seen by the cardiologist & said enough. He is going to end up severely hurt with all of this falling & got it done. He goes in for a pacemaker checkup every 3 months. No big deal they take a reading off of it.

Take care.
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