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Hello all!
I thought I wouold drop a line to update everyone with Wayne's progress.
He was monitored with a Holter monitor, due to inability to perform excercise that was meaningful. His heart rate goes from 40 to 208 in a given day. Moderate exertion causes the high heart rate. When the rate is low, he has "pauses". He is in CHF, has a severely leaking tricuspid valve, two St. Jude mechanicals, and is in a-fib. His EF is 40% menaing he has LVD. His local cardio recommended a pacemaker, his Boston cardio, ditto. And of course his PCP agrees. We saw a local electrophysiologist a week and a half ago. We were in his office, about three minutes, when he got on the phone and called an electrophysiologist in Boston. Last Tuesday we went to see the new guy in Boston. He said that Wayne was not a candidate for catheter based pulmonary vein ablation, as it was too risky. He recommended a pacemaker as well. I do not have the impression that he needs it urgently however. Wayne is very reluctant, although is beginning to understand that it is ineveitable. He is 55, and thinks he is too young to go on battery.
The interesting thing was that the Boston electro said that about 5% of valvers have a pacemaker. I didn't think that many folks on this board had them.
So, I've got to call the Boston cardio this week. He is scheduled to do another echo on Wayne mid-July, and will probably want to wait till then to schedule the pacemaker insertion. He had told us that some folks do not tolerate a pacemaker well, so that they would insert it in the first step, see how he does, and then ablate the AV node for permanent pacing at a later date. This is probably due to the failed tricuspid valve. By the way, the surgical report said there was trace regurgitation in October, and then by April it is severely leaking. Has anyone ever heard of this?
Well, the above is the long and the short of it.......seems like the other side of the mountain sometimes has some hills and dales!
Marybeth
I thought I wouold drop a line to update everyone with Wayne's progress.
He was monitored with a Holter monitor, due to inability to perform excercise that was meaningful. His heart rate goes from 40 to 208 in a given day. Moderate exertion causes the high heart rate. When the rate is low, he has "pauses". He is in CHF, has a severely leaking tricuspid valve, two St. Jude mechanicals, and is in a-fib. His EF is 40% menaing he has LVD. His local cardio recommended a pacemaker, his Boston cardio, ditto. And of course his PCP agrees. We saw a local electrophysiologist a week and a half ago. We were in his office, about three minutes, when he got on the phone and called an electrophysiologist in Boston. Last Tuesday we went to see the new guy in Boston. He said that Wayne was not a candidate for catheter based pulmonary vein ablation, as it was too risky. He recommended a pacemaker as well. I do not have the impression that he needs it urgently however. Wayne is very reluctant, although is beginning to understand that it is ineveitable. He is 55, and thinks he is too young to go on battery.
The interesting thing was that the Boston electro said that about 5% of valvers have a pacemaker. I didn't think that many folks on this board had them.
So, I've got to call the Boston cardio this week. He is scheduled to do another echo on Wayne mid-July, and will probably want to wait till then to schedule the pacemaker insertion. He had told us that some folks do not tolerate a pacemaker well, so that they would insert it in the first step, see how he does, and then ablate the AV node for permanent pacing at a later date. This is probably due to the failed tricuspid valve. By the way, the surgical report said there was trace regurgitation in October, and then by April it is severely leaking. Has anyone ever heard of this?
Well, the above is the long and the short of it.......seems like the other side of the mountain sometimes has some hills and dales!
Marybeth
