Heart Rate / Pacemaker

[Jmprosser.lab]

Hey everyone,

How common is low HR in this forum? I’m resting of 47-55. Assume lower during sleep. That’s not a predictor of needing a pacemaker is it?? My Cardio says not at all. I have no symptoms or issues with energy and it rises properly with exercise. I run a good amount but not a ton.

 

[epstns]

It is not a problem until there is a problem. By that, I mean that a low resting heart rate by itself is not a problem, but if it results in symptoms or gets in the way of your everyday life, then it is a problem. Sometimes patients with bradycardia (low heart rate) have no symptoms or issues. Sometimes they may have bouts of dizziness, especially when standing up from sitting or kneeling down. Sometimes they may even faint or pass out. Then it is a problem and needs to be addressed.

On one occasion before my surgery (and pacemaker) I remember standing up in the fitness center, getting ready to start my 3-4 mile treadmill run. I watched my heart rate monitor, and the number just kept going down, down, down as I stood there and relaxed. When it got down to about 45 beats per minute, I remember thinking to myself "I'd better get moving to speed it up, or it might just stop." I don't know how low it would have gotten, but as soon as I hit the treadmill, it went right up to 140+ once I hit my stride.

My actual need for the pacemaker was not evident until after my valve surgery. We (not the surgeon, though) believe that when the surgeon cut to remove my native aortic valve, he had to cut wide to get the calcified valve out. The nerve bundle that connects the atria (upper chambers) to the ventricles (lower chambers) runs right next to the aortic valve. He may have damaged that nerve bundle in surgery, and after that, my heart rate and rhythm became very erratic, sometimes even stopping for 20-30 seconds at a time. Fortunately, this manifested itself while I was still in the cardiac ICU, so they were well prepared to deal with it. When I was asked if I would consider getting a pacemaker, I simply asked them "Do you have one in stock? Why wait?" The rest is history, and life is good.

 

[Rapidman]

My resting HR is 40 to 45 since about a year after my surgery. I’m 5 years out. I also run on average 30 miles a week. I’m not symptomatic and cardio hasn’t been concerned.

 

[skeptic49]

My heart rate post surgery has always been 45-50 with no symptoms, so no pacemaker.

 

[Mister_James]

There is the possibility of nerve damage alluded to in a post earlier but there is also reverse remodeling of the heart.
With a bad valve, the heart compensated, becoming muscular and faster. Because it was gradual, you never noticed these changes.

After surgery, your heart is more efficent. The body is signalling we have more than plenty and the heart is dialing down.

I have seen high 30s on my sleep tracker

 

[sangfroid]

Hey everyone,

How common is low HR in this forum? I’m resting of 47-55. Assume lower during sleep. That’s not a predictor of needing a pacemaker is it?? My Cardio says not at all. I have no symptoms or issues with energy and it rises properly with exercise. I run a good amount but not a ton.

I've been at 38 to 45, rarely in the low 50s, for 21 years after mechanical aortic valve. No problems. Alarms go off when I'm being monitored for medical procedures.

 

[Yankeeman2]

Follow-up from Yankeeman on pacemakers:
Despite being told by my cardiologist that he thought I needed a pacemaker, apparently I don't. He referred me to a pacemaker specialist (also a cardiologist) who said that it is "common" for hearts to stop for three or four seconds occasionally during sleep. He said I don't need one and my cardiologist accepts that.
But my cardiologist also said one of the blood tests he ordered after the pauses were detected by the three-year monitor they stuck under the skin in my chest showed I have Lyme Disease. It's a mystery how I got it (haven't been bitten by a tick in years and have noticed no symptoms) but apparently the disease can damage the heart and....wait for it !....cause the beats to slow down.
So my primary care doctor put me on doxycycline for three weeks and will see the cardiologist again in six months.

 

[carolinemc]

Hey everyone,

How common is low HR in this forum? I’m resting of 47-55. Assume lower during sleep. That’s not a predictor of needing a pacemaker is it?? My Cardio says not at all. I have no symptoms or issues with energy and it rises properly with exercise. I run a good amount but not a ton.

It is quite common and does not mean you need a pace maker, which is used for rapid heartbeats and those who have slow heart beats or those whose hearts skip a beat. Just relax and stop worrying about the heartbeat. Worry can do a number on the heart and mind. Just relax. Your heart beat is normal.

 

[Dodger Fan]

My heartrate is approximately 27 BPM after surgery. Without my pacemaker my ears ring and I can't really control my body It's not the most common thing, but I acquired 3rd degree heart block as a direct result of my OHS.

 

[vitdoc]

Ventricles have their own intrinsic rhythm. From 0 to around 30. If there is no signal from the atrium they beat at their own rhythm. After heart surgery if there is evidence for a block a temporary pacer wire is placed. Sometimes there is recovery and heart block doesn’t develop and the temporary wire is removed. If the block is permanent then a permanent pacer is placed to bridge the block.
In my case I had no intrinsic ventricular rhythm. So I would die without a pacer. Hence I am pacemaker dependent. At 27 beats/minute you would survive but not very well.