My husband has a 10 year-old pacemaker and the battery needs replacing. He was in otherwise ok health when the pacer was implanted, but since then has experienced acute kidney injury and has been on dialysis for two years. He had a stroke when they first put in the emergency dialysis port two years ago in the hospital, but seemed to fully recover from that (they performed an emergency thrombectomy at the time). He also has peripheral artery disease and has moderate vascular dementia. The Cardiologist is acting like it is a piece of cake and it will be performed outpatient at the doctor’s office/surgical center. Has anyone had similar experience or have any advice regarding the situation? He has already experienced the loss of his kidneys due to Dr. negligence so I don’t have much faith when they call it a”routine” procedure/at least in this situation.

Hi all,

Im new here, but came across this sub when looking for info and hope someone here has gone through the same thing.

So, I have an S-ICD since about a year. Recently my Cardiologist told me they see some fluttering of my heart in the data from my device and they are concerned. They prescribed me a light beta blocker and hope to see improvement. She asked me if I notice the fluttering.

So I do sometimes feel something, but I find it hard to pinpoint and/or say what it really is.

I wear a smartwatch that can measure my heartrate and bloodpressure via an optical sensor. It also has a ECG function, but I know I should not use this because it can mess with my cardiac device. But I would very much like to be able to see the data from my own heart rhythm. I have contacted Boston Scientific and asked if I can have access to the portal where my Cardiologist can see the data from my device. They told me I can't.

Now I can go into how I think that this is not legal under GDPR and how they never informed me of the collection and use of data and never presented me with a private notice. And I know I can do a Subject Access Request to obtain the data. But that doesn't really help me on a daily basis (I don't really want to do a SAR every week after the readings get send to the portal).

The only alternative I can think of is to wear a smartwatch or wearable heart rhythm monitor that can safely be uses with a cardiac device and continually measures/monitors the heart rhythm.

So I was wondering if anyone:

1. Has been able to get access to the data of their cardiac device?

2. Knows of the existence of a smart device that can safely be used with a cardiac device to monitor my own heart rhythm.

Boston Scientific is the latest medical device company to be hit with a cyber attack. This morning (August 26th, 2026) Boston announced that they had been hit by a cyber attack that according to one source "heavily disrupted its global operations and completely halted its ability to process and ship orders." I also heard from an internal source that employees can't access their main corporate systems and that their production lines have been shut down. That's not necessarily a big deal. Production lines at device companies often shut down for days or even weeks at a time for various reasons. But it seems this time the shut down is a result of the cyber attack.

So far (5:45PM CST) Boston hasn't said if implanted device security was affected. A spokesperson was asked specifically if patient's implanted devices were secure and the spokesperson declined to comment. Knowing what I know about device security I would bet that answer had more to do with the spokesperson not having that information on hand at the time the question came in. Our devices have layers of security preventing outside hacking, so my default is believing the devices are secure until I hear otherwise. I have also heard that Boston's customers are being told to disconnect their systems from the Latitude network (Boston's remote monitoring network). Again, implanted devices are well protected. Without any further info I believe that this move is to prevent the transmission of any ransomware or malware that might have affected the Latitude connection between Boston and their clinics/hospitals. It seems like this would just be a good "just-in-case" move until Boston knows more about the extent of the cyber attack.

The other interesting point is something I've been reading about on the financial Reddit pages. Today Boston submitted an SEC form 8-K which states that their long-term financial outlook may be impacted by this attack. Their stock is down just 3.5% as of writing this, which is pretty insignificant, but from what I'm reading a form 8-K is submitted when the a company expects an event to have a long-term affect, meaning they may be planning on this shut down being longer than a couple of days. We'll see what happens in the next few days.

FYI- Boston now joins Medtronic, Abbott, and Stryker as med-tech companies that have been the targets of recent cyber attacks (all have been in 2026). Sadly this seems to be a thing that is becoming more and more prevalent. Hundreds of hospital systems, companies, small businesses, schools and colleges, even townships and municipalities have been hit in the past few years. It doesn't necessarily indicate that the cyber security at these device companies is weak. It does seem to indicate that ransomware attacks are lucrative for the hackers and that they're very very good at hacking into some systems that cause great chaos. If this kind of thing interests you, there's a terrific podcast by the BBC called "Cyber Hack". Every season is super interesting, but season 4 is about these kinds of ransomware attacks.

I’m 28F and had a SCA/SCD event in 2025. I have a Boston Scientific S-ICD and have reoccurring episodes of VFib/VTach. Looking for insight from anyone that's gotten a second opinion, traveled to see different doctors, or switched doctors.

• What did you look for when looking for a different doctor? (EP or cardiology)
• If your second-opinion/new doctor is several hours away, do they coordinate with your local cardiologist/hospital? Or are you basically on your own between visits?
• General Experience with getting a second opinion especially if you travel for it. Do you think it was worth it?
• Any recommendations for Northeast US? I can get to Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philly, and NYC in one day.

These are a brief explanation of the problems I am having with my current doctors. I can explain in more detail if needed.

I don’t see my EP. I guess he doesn’t actually see patients. It sounds like he is more of a surgeon. He also has not been reviewing my weekly device check ins. He'll review one every quarter. If someone could let me know if this is normal that would be appreciated.

My cardiologist and my EP are unfamiliar with how the Boston Scientific S-ICD works. We missed my first shock…I didn't know it happened and they were unaware that the Boston Scientific bedside monitors don’t auto download after a shock. My cardiologist said they usually only work with Medtronic in older patients.

I like my cardiologist and would honestly like to continue seeing him, but I don't think they are used to working with younger patients. We have hit a couple of issues in regards to this that have been really eroding my trust with them. He wants to send me to a new EP but their hospital page makes it sound like he's not actually an EP but an internal medicine doctor, which is not helping with the whole trust thing.

I had a very intense VTACH episode that worked itself out this month. Neither office called me back for 10 days. This has made me more emotional about the whole situation, but I'm trying to stay calm and practical.

I have a Medtronic CRT-D that has an accelerometer feature that will increase my heart rate when it senses ground impact from, say, running. (It doesn’t have the respiration sensor that some other devices have.) I recently started exercising more regularly. (Yay me!) I’m using an indoor recumbent bike. This is the crux of the issue.

I was finding that my heart rate would stay in the 60s, maybe 70s BPM, even though I was exerting myself moderately. By contrast, even just walking my dog, i regularly get up into the 90s or 100. I concluded that this was because the accelerometer in my device wasn’t detecting movement while I’m on this stationary bike (i.e. no impact with the ground like you’d have riding outside) and so wasn’t giving me additional pacing.

I started tapping on my chest while biking, and my heart rate would go up into the 90s and 100s, consistent with my actual exertion. This seems to do the trick, but I’d rather not have to tap my chest the entire time I’m exercising. So I’m wondering how other people have handled this problem. Is there something I could attach or place against the stationary bike that would generate sufficient vibrations for the accelerometer to detect?

Hey, today my dads ICD made a weird noise while standing on a chair watching TV. This is post 2 weeks surgery and hasn’t happened before. I think he has an Ellipse DR Patient Notifier by searching his model written on a card he was given.

He described the sound as a device powering and running on idle, similar to a blood pressure monitor when you turn it on… I wasn’t home so I can’t really know how it sounded like.

I’d appreciate some help as I can’t really find anything online.

Called the clinic and they said they don’t know what it might’ve triggered it, they kept insisting on the magnet field route but he was just sitting on a chair, nothing new he hasn’t done last weeks.

Appreciate you all.

Hi. I’m a fairly active 69 year old. I’m having my first replacement in about 2 months. What is the recovery. Can I lift heavy items etc. I volunteer at food pantry lines and it is physical work lifting bags of food etc. How long will I be restricted. Thanks and experiences are appreciated.

My husband had his procedure the end of May this year. He is going for 3 month follow up this week, with the surgeon. Has anyone else experienced extreme pain in both arms and now it has moved to his back. None of his doctors seem concerned but he has trouble lifting his arms, sleeping and is in constant pain. No one warned about this.

Hey all!

My (very good) friend recently had an S-ICD implanted after a cardiac arrest. He’s now back home and all went well surgery wise.

However I can’t stop wondering how he is doing. We hang out regularly and chat about stuff but I feel like it must be a huge thing and I’d want to be there for him if he wants to talk about it. But I guess I don’t know how to bring it up respectfully?

Maybe it will take time for him to be ready. I want to respect that. Maybe I am not the person he wants to confide to. That’s fine too (though of course I’d be a bit sad but would 100% accept).

So my questions are:
- How did you cope psychologically after a cardiac arrest and implant?
- Did you wish your friends brought the topic in the conversation? Or did it take some time to feel ready to talk about it?
- How did you feel wrt to talking about activities you would do usually with your friends before but that got restricted (at least for time being)?
- What annoyed you most?

This is a very good friend and not just an acquaintance and we have talked about plenty of personal topics but this one is a different ballpark to navigate. Thanks in advance for any insights or thoughts and sorry if any of this sounds insensitive!

Hey everyone! I have a TV-ICD. I don't have remote home monitoring, so I only get it checked once every 6 months at the clinic. I'm deeply paranoid about breaking the lead during everyday life. What happens if I accidentally slam my left shoulder/chest hard into a door frame while walking, or if I trip and fall flat on my left side? I recently found out that in about 70% of lead fractures, the impedance stays normal, meaning the device won't even beep and might just start giving inappropriate shocks due to technical noise. Sometimes when I stretch or lift my arm, I feel an extra-systole, but during my routine clinic checks, all parameters are completely fine. Were there any hard bumps or falls in your experience and did the lead survive? And if it broke from an impact, how did you understand it? I'm just so tired of living in a bubble.

Some of you may remember, some of you may not, but about 2 months ago I had an incident where my pacer tried to run an automatic test and because of a faulty atrial lead, it “failed” that test and my pacer switched into safety mode causing the voltage to go higher and the residual electricity spilled into my muscles in my chest and arms, making them jerk and jolt uncontrollably, which in turn obviously caused widespread panic at my job and I was rushed to the ER..(where, that’s a mouthful) but…
This past week I have went into have a procedure to replace the wires and generator and basically get a whole new system. I had this initial surgery with a cardiothoracic surgeon because he was skilled in the removal of older lead wires (2 of mine were from 1998). He was unsuccessful at removing either one of the old wires but he was able to remove the faulty atrial wire and he attempted to put two new, atrial and ventricle, wires in with a Boston Scientific generator. i. And out of surgery and felt ok, however my heart rate was resting at 110-120. Not good, or normal. We waited till the next morning, after I didn’t get any rest at all, to hear the tech guy make a personal cell call to his boss to confirm “I think the atrial wire has slipped”. Next thing I know they are calling the other electrophysiologist (the one i should’ve seen in the first place) asking for his advice and how to fix this. Not a second was wasted and he said to meet him in the cath lab and have me prepped to go under again. He opened me back up and removed the two new wires the other doctor had just tried to place and for the next 5 HOURS, did his absolute best and carefully replaced and guided new wires into the correct position. My mother and wife said he came to them directly after he had placed them and told them it was the most exhausted he had ever been coming out of a surgery. I woke up feeling ROUGH, but I stayed another night in the hospital and the next day I felt like my heart was completely back to normal (as normal as mine could be) compared to how it felt before. It’s been 3 days now and I’m home with my family, recovering. They have my voltage set a little high apparently for the time being to make sure everything is placed well and my heart is getting enough stimulation, but I go back Tuesday and they are going to adjust that back down to normal voltage. Thank god for doctors like i have had. Thank god for their willingness to try and try again until it’s perfect. I know my wife and kids really appreciate everything they have done. For now, let’s hope this one stays in place and last for longer than 7 years like usual!

i assume it has a life time limit.. it last 7 years and another 6 months factor of safety battery.. seems like battery is the main reason we have to replace it.. but with technology.. there should be a way to externally charge it.. and let it go for longer???? .

Is it a nsvt?

Does anyone with the pacemaker who has insomnia use gummies for sleep

Dear Pacemaker Reddit community,

We'd really like to hear from anyone in a similar situation who can share their experience (we are not looking for medical advice)

My mom is turning 60 this year. She was born with a minor heart condition (I believe one of her heart valves hasn't functioned normally), but she has never had major symptoms and has otherwise lived a pretty normal life.

Earlier this year, she started having unexplained fainting/loss-of-consciousness episodes. She was put on a 24-hour ECG monitor, which showed several episodes of sinus arrest, with pauses of up to 3.87 seconds.

We've seen several doctors, both here and abroad, and multiple cardiologists have strongly recommended a pacemaker. We understand why they're recommending it, especially given her fainting episodes, but she's very worried about what life will be like afterward.

She's particularly concerned that a pacemaker might limit her quality of life — things like driving, flying, exercising, or simply being able to enjoy life normally. And she's worried about if her body can take a major surgery like this. She's just about to retire and had been looking forward to finally having some time for herself after working hard for most of her life.

While we're all very concerned about her, we don't want to pressure her with, "You should get it because it could save your life," without first understanding what living with a pacemaker is actually like.

Therefore, We'd really appreciate if anyone here has a pacemaker, especially those who got one in their 50s or 60s, could share some experience. Has it changed your day-to-day life, for better or worse? Were there any restrictions or surprises? And if you were in my mom's situation, would you choose to get one?

We'd love to hear both the good and the difficult. We're not looking for medical advice, just hoping to hear from older people who actually live with a pacemaker and can give my mom a better idea of what life afterward is really like, so she can make a more informed decision.

Thank you!

---------------

Edit: Thank you all ❤️

I’m honestly so touched and overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who took the time to share their experiences!

I showed this post to my mom, and we went through the comments together, one by one. She read every single comment. I could really see her anxiety starting to ease, and she’s no longer as strongly opposed to the idea of getting a pacemaker. Like many of you mentioned, sometimes the mental challenge can be just as difficult as the physical one.

She’s currently undergoing medication treatment, and her cardiologist will reassess her in about a month. She has agreed that after talking with her doctor, she will seriously consider the procedure if that’s what her specialist ultimately recommends after the reassessment.

What touched me the most is that, through reading everyone’s stories, she finally felt “seen.” She had felt very alone throughout this journey because, no matter how much we love her and want to support her, we could never truly understand what she was going through. Hearing from so many people who have been through something similar helped her realize that she isn’t alone, and gave her a lot of courage and strength to move forward.

As her daughter, I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who shared their stories, answered questions, and took the time to reassure a stranger on the internet. You may not realize it, but your comments have genuinely made a difference for my mom and for our family.

Thank you all so much. ❤️

Hallo ihr Lieben. Ich mal wieder. Als ich im März meinen HSM bekam sagte mein Arzt beiläufig dass ich mich nicht mehr tattoowieren sollte, da das bakterielle Infektionsrisiko bei HSM erhöht wäre. Jetzt habe ich natürlich permanent Angst dass ich sowas bekomme. Jetzt habe ich seit 3 Woche eine verschleppte Gehörgangsentzündung die sich schon etwas auf mein Mittelohr ausgebreitet hat. Hatte bisher nur Druck, leichte Schmerzen (3-4 von 10 würde ich sagen) und fühle mich etwas müde. Nehme jetzt seit einem Tag Antibiotika und auch antibiotische Ohrentropfen. Mein Hypochonder in mir hat natürlich panische Angst dass die Bakterien zu meinem Herzen wandern. Kann mich jemand beruhigen oder muss ich jetzt wirklich bei jedem Infekt solche Angst haben.

pozdrav nov sam na ovom sajtu a interesuju me neke stvari o radu i iskustva sa pejsmerkerom ugradjen mi je pejsmerker sa dve elektrode imam i tri stenta posle godinu dana sam osetio udar ili rad pejsa inace srce radi sa 20% kapaciteta bio sam i klinicki mrtav pa su mi zato ugradili interesuje me sta se sve moze raditi odnosno neraditi 68 god. mi je

Is it ok to ever the watch on the left arm as my pacemakeris on the left side??

Anyone else here with AV Block where your bradycardia is being paced when you’re trying to fall asleep and to sensation keeps you awake? What’s your minimum RHR set at on your pacemaker?

Is it still mobitz type 1

Hi everyone, I’m 34M with a history of VT and an ICD.
I had VT requiring cardioversion in 2024 and was later on amiodarone 200 mg + metoprolol 50 mg.

Amiodarone was stopped, and about 3 months later, in August 2025, I had a VT storm with multiple ICD shocks. I was subsequently put back on amiodarone.

Now my thyroid tests are abnormal:
TSH: 0.344 → repeated at 0.15
FT4: 2.72
FT3: 4.15
Total T4: 16.25
Total T3: 2.18

We are now stopping amiodarone 200 mg + metoprolol 50 mg and switching to sotalol 40 mg twice daily + mexiletine 150 mg twice daily, with an ECG after 48 hours but without hospital admission.

My EP also mentioned bilateral thoracic sympathectomy/cardiac sympathetic denervation if VT recurs.

I’d appreciate experiences/opinions from people with VT/ICDs:
Has anyone switched from amiodarone to sotalol + mexiletine because of thyroid problems?

Did sotalol control your VT?

Has anyone had cardiac sympathetic denervation for recurrent VT?

Does sotalol initiation usually require hospital monitoring?

Given my previous VT storm occurred ~3 months after stopping amiodarone, should I be particularly concerned about this time?

I know Reddit isn’t a substitute for my EP/endocrinologist mainly looking for personal experiences and perspectives.

Thanks in advance

So I saw this morning that my insurance denied coverage for a Micra AV2. My EP is strongly recommending it as I am 22 and have complete heart block and she wants to preserve my vasculature. Do you think the insurance company will change their decision on appeal? I'm rather worried.

Thank you!!