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Is Pacemaker Advisable When Suffering From Bradycardia
I am a 90 yr old male who has bradycardia (usually 40-45 BPM). I have had no symptoms for almost 5 years; no dyspnea, syncope, vertigo, fatigue, chest pain, or palpitations. I go to the gym 2-3x per week and do 100 reps on 4-5 machines and have no adverse symptoms. My pulse rate usually goes up to 60. Do I need a pacemaker?
Tue, 11 Aug 2015
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your concern.
The normal heart beat range is from 60-100. It can be accepted as normal down to 48-50 beats per minute, but only in cases of highly trained athletes and vıgorously physically active people. Now, every bradicardia syndrome can come from some culprits. Usually used drugs for treating high blood pressure (hypertension), such as beta-blockers or calcıum channel blockers (verapamil and diltiazem), can cause bradicardia.
Left everything aside, my opinion is that this is a case of age-induced derrangement of the conduction pathway of the heart or natural pacemaker (sınus node) insufficiency. Combining your age and the constant bradicardia, I would recommend a 24-hour Holter rhythm registratıon, to see whether other conduction disturbances appear during the day.
However, I would see the pacemaker implantation as reasonable in this stage of life, even if the slightest conduction disturbance that Holter monitor may fınd.
I hope I was helpful. Wish you a good health.
Kınd regards,
Dr. Meriton
The normal heart beat range is from 60-100. It can be accepted as normal down to 48-50 beats per minute, but only in cases of highly trained athletes and vıgorously physically active people. Now, every bradicardia syndrome can come from some culprits. Usually used drugs for treating high blood pressure (hypertension), such as beta-blockers or calcıum channel blockers (verapamil and diltiazem), can cause bradicardia.
Left everything aside, my opinion is that this is a case of age-induced derrangement of the conduction pathway of the heart or natural pacemaker (sınus node) insufficiency. Combining your age and the constant bradicardia, I would recommend a 24-hour Holter rhythm registratıon, to see whether other conduction disturbances appear during the day.
However, I would see the pacemaker implantation as reasonable in this stage of life, even if the slightest conduction disturbance that Holter monitor may fınd.
I hope I was helpful. Wish you a good health.
Kınd regards,
Dr. Meriton
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