If you have a pace maker do you have heart problems??

Question

My husband has a pace make and does not think he has a heart problem..

Answer 1

Your husband is incorrect then.

Answer 2

Yes of course.A pacemaker relieves the symptoms of bradycardia. Bradycardia means that a heart's natural rhythm has become abnormally slow (less than 60 beats per minute) or irregular. Because of this, the heart is not able to meet your body's demands, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, or fainting spells.
It may be that the sinus node, the heart's natural pacemaker, sends out electrical impulses too slowly (sick sinus syndrome). Or, the electrical impulses may be blocked along the electrical pathway through the heart (heart block). The heartbeat then becomes very slow or unsteady.
Either of these two forms of bradycardia can result from heart disease, damage from a heart attack, cardiac surgery, or degeneration from the aging process. The precise cause may be unknown.
Whatever the cause of symptomatic bradycardia, a pacemaker can keep the heart beating at a rate that allows you to continue living a normal life

Answer 3

Have him check with his doctor. Why did he get it put in in the first place? Usually the heart is why you have a pace maker. Maybe he is not haveing heart problems because he does have the pace maker.

Answer 4

I think it is very important for you both to realize that the plumbing and the electrical components of the heart are very separate. You can have all open arteries, a strong heart muscle, and normal valves and still need a pacemaker because the electrical conduction system is out of whack. In this case, the heart is still healthy, and the electrical system needs help. However, with a pacemaker and a structurally normal heart, a heart can be considered "normal".

Answer 5

Does your husband UNDERSTAND what a pacemaker does? Maybe he is under the assumption that he has no heart problems NOW BECAUSE he has a pacemaker!
Hopefully both of you know that usually monthly a pacemaker check must be done and can be done via a telephone.
Your husband, like 99 percent of the male population, will not believe his wife actually knows what she is talking about.
Suggest you call his MD and explain this to him, so your husband KNOWS he has set limitations WITH a pacemaker and can ask this MD any questions he may have about it.
Good luck!
Debi

Answer 6

ridiculous. then again it depends on his definition of "heart problems".

the fact he has a pacemaker is in itself indicative of a heart with poor timing (electrical disturbance, not mechanical). the pacemaker is there in case the heart is not beating correctly. so yes there are times when he may feel that he doesn't have a heart problem, but the placement of the pacemaker was not so the doctor could make a payment on his Mercedes.

your husband obviously was tested under a variety of circumstances and was conclusively pr oven to have some sort of electrical disturbance of the heart. the pacemaker by the way has nothing to do with the pumping action of the heart, so if heart problems to him are those related to pumping of blood then that may be why he thinks he has nothing wrong. but, continued irregular electrical misfiring of the heart cause poor pumping action which results in symptoms. again because he may at times be symptom free is why he probably thinks nothing is wrong. remember that the pacemaker is keeping the electrical timing where it should be so he should be experiencing fewer episodes resulting in physical symptoms.

Answer 7

I had a pace maker just to make sure i didnt have a heart problem. If that helps ne. Just go to the doctor to have em' check him out.

Answer 8

I hear this all the time....many elderly people think that if they had something done to 'fix' a heart problem..... that they no longer are regarded as having 'heart problems'.

I had one patient deny any heart problems, then when I had him remove his shirt he was sporting a big zipper like scar down his breast bone! (he thought that since he had undergone a triple bypass that didnt count!)

Answer 9

Did they put the pacemake in on a whim? OF COURSE HE HAS HEART PROBLEMS! More specifically, some sort of arrythmia.

Maybe he has brain problems too?

Answer 10

Of course he does. a pacemaker controls
the heart rhythm. If the heartbeat gets too
slow, the pacemaker gives it a nudge to
speed it back up

Answer 11

You have to have a heart problem to get one put in or the insurance would not have paid for it.