King of Hearts Cardiac Monitor/Pacemakers

[Guest guest]

For the recent cardiac issues 1) wore a Holter monitor for 4

days and 2) a King of Hearts event recorder for 37 days. One

cardiologist stopped it saying her problem was artifact, ie

interference from her ventilator. I strongly disagreed as she has

used a ventilator for the past 13 years and we didn't have

interference in the past. So, I scheduled a second opinion at

Cleveland Clinic. CHW faxed the event recording strips to CCF where

they were reviewed by TWO cardiologists. They both agreed that the

problem is not ventilator interference but pacemaker lead wire

failure to capture or sense. They tried reprogramming the pacemaker

but monitor alarms continued so they ordered another King of Hearts

for 30 more days.

's pacemaker has made a tremendous difference. The problem is

her lead wires are 13 years old and they only last so long. It is

likely the wires will need replacement soon and then the system will

function as it is supposed to. When the system is fully functional

we don't tend to see the heart rate highs and extreme lows that have

been happening since October. As an example: two nights ago,

's apnea monitor alarmed for heart rates of 12, 16, 20 and

24. Her pacemaker is not supposed to allow her heart rate to drop

below 40. Our hope is that the docs at CCF will soon make the

decision to fix the system and, by doing so, prevent the potential

for hypoxic brain insult that can occur when the heart rate drops so

low bringing her oxygen sats down into the 40's and 50's.