Pacemaker news

I went back to the cardiac unit for a pacemaker checkup today.  It really was a checkup of the pacemaker rather than of me - from the technicians' point of view,  I'm just the patient to which the machine is fitted.  They had a fancy screen with all sorts of readouts and I was rather frustrated because I couldn't see what was going on and join in the techie discussion.

Still, I found out that my pacemaker has a megabyte of memory and they can download firmware updates if they need to.  It also records my heart rate all the time - I saw a printout of my heartrate over the last 24 hours, including a wonderful flat line (at 60 bpm, not zero!) where the pacemaker kicks in while I'm asleep.  Over the last month, it has paced my atria for 58% of the time.  I suspect this will drop as I become more active.  It has only needed to pace my ventricles twice.  At least one of these occasions will be when I had palpitations, which occurred after I had wine at lunchtime followed by two diet cokes close together.  I'm now going very easy on alcohol and reducing my caffeine intake, although the former is easier to give up than the latter!

Techie stuff aside, they say I'm OK and can now start exercising again.  I'm also cleared to drive and cycle.  I still find that if I'm a little short of breath if I walk too far (meaning over a mile or so) but the doctors suggested this was probably just a stage in recovery and should get better - my pulse record doesn't show the symptoms they would expect from someone with acute breathlessness.  I'll see how things go and may visit my GP for advice.

So it's good news, basically.  I certainly feel more confident and hope to gradually do more exercise.

P.S. I find certain scenes in films or TV dramas rather less comfortable now.  l just watched "Casino Royale" and the scene with the defibrillator was a bit close to home.  Similarly, I feel empathy every time an ambulance goes by with it's lights and siren on - it's an "I've been there" feeling!