Sunday, April 24, 2005

Dual vs. Single Chamber Pacemakers

Here's an article discussing some research done on Dual vs. Single Chamber Pacemakers. I have a dual chambered, but the upper lead is believed to be misplaced so the pacemaker is set to operate in ventricular mode only. It might be a bigger deal if I was dependent on the pacemaker, but the cardiologist didn't seem too concerned about it.

Fifty Years of Pacemakers

Here's an article from Forbes.com that discusses pacemakers in general and some of the results regarding life expectancy.

Monday, April 04, 2005

14 Months

It's been 14 months since I had the pacemaker implanted. There's still no signs of the Heart Block returning, so I basically have a rather expensive heart monitor installed. I haven't been back to the cardiologist lately, but will probably schedule a visit at the 18 or 24 month mark.

I have to admit I'm still a little bitter about having a pacemaker for a condition that quickly disappeared. I still harbor some feelings that maybe there was a rush to get it implanted without completely diagnosing the causes. Everyone keeps telling me to be grateful that I have the pacemaker, but they don't have to feel a hard metallic lump every morning in the shower when they're soaping up their chest like I do. I still don't think I've gone an entire day without noticing it or thinking about it, but I have come to accept it for the most part.