Cardio Defibrillator

[TwoWheeler]

Anybody out there riding with a heart defibrillator in place? Just had mine go off while in bed at 7;00 AM no fun. Don't know what would happen if it went off while riding, but I think I could handle it. Any one had theirs go off while riding? I am 69 but keep on plugging along.








Ever stop to think and forget to start again.

[bslayer]

never had it go off while riding, but once while cooking, twice in the shower and twice within five minutes while participating in bedroom activities. all this at the age of 36. i think i could handle the bike if it was to go off. dont know for sure. dont really want to know.

[retrobabe201]

I think this is the strangest thing I have ever seen posted on here.

[GregsBlurpleX]

Originally Posted by retrobabe201

I think this is the strangest thing I have ever seen posted on here.

I agree but a very interesting subject none the less.

[retrobabe201]

Oh yea I am on the edge of my seat now.

[X-GUY4HIM]

Good for ya'll! That really shows determination. Keep plugging away as you say and have fun. We never know when our hearts will stop for good and breathe our last breath. So enjoy, every moment is precious!

Life is like a vapor

[PITVTX]

I've had mine now for over 3 years now. I've got an electrical problem. The plumbing is okay. The first time it went off was a couple months after I got it. I was driving my truck 30mph straight on a two lane one way city street with parking on both side. Started to feel light headed and thought I was nodding off when it kicked in and in a split second woke me up. I didn't swerve or jump up in my seat. Really didn't do anything except say "Hey!". Pulled over when I had a spot open on the curb and called my Cardiologist. When I told him what happend he said "Good". Asked me how I was feeling and said if it went off again go to the hospital. Other wise see him on Monday at his office. Haven't had a neccessary incident since.

I haven't changed my riding habits at all. My riding buddies were worried about me at first but in reality I worry about them more than myself. Heck, I've got my own automatic internal difibulator. If they have a problem we all have to do CPR untill some first responder with a automatic external difibulator shows up.

On a humorous note here's the unneccessary incident. I was cranking a come-a-long to pull a car onto a dolly. Thought to myself I might want to slow down a bit to keep my heartrate down. While I was resting it went off without any physical warning signs. Went off four more times paced (no pun intended) about 10 seconds apart. According to the tech the with the higher heart rate the difrulator decided the algorithm it was reading was close enough to a serious problem and tried a few lower powered shocks to help. After those five didn't work it paused and my heartrate went below the set level and it wasn't interested anymore. He said with a more defined serious conditions the unit keeps firing untill you respond, EMT's arrive and can override it, or if your alone in the middle of nowwhere it does the Energizer Bunny untill it runs out of power.

They adjusted my device to allow for a higher heart rate and no more problems. I'm glad I got it. I hope I never need it again. But I don't worry about it.

[VACMAN]

Glad to see your all ticking , didn't know there was such a device, enjoy life

[X'N]

What brands you guys got? 98% of the implantable defibs are made within a few miles of my house.

I've heard you can give your girl a real good shock if it goes off when your makin bacon!

[dan3]

Originally Posted by X'N

What brands you guys got? I know a guy who works on em 98% of the implantable defibs are made within a few miles of my house.

I've heard you can give your girl a real good shock if it goes off when your makin bacon!

Wow. I'm sorta wantin' one now.

[mike n]

Between a Defib and a Pacemaker?

[KD3NE]

Originally Posted by X'N

I've heard you can give your girl a real good shock if it goes off when your makin bacon!

Just so it happens at THAT moment!!

I knew they had these devices, but never gave any thought to what happens to the individual when they go off. Now I am thinking!

[X'N]

Originally Posted by mike n

Between a Defib and a Pacemaker?

A pacemaker paces your heart to keep beating either to reduce a racing or raise a slow beating heart. A defib shocks your heart if you go into cardiac arrest and it can also pace your heart too.

[KeyWasted]

Originally Posted by X'N

What brands you guys got? 98% of the implantable defibs are made within a few miles of my house.

I've heard you can give your girl a real good shock if it goes off when your makin bacon!

I wish! I'd get one without needing it!

The most you might feel is a slight tingling if anything. I've been in contact (touching) a person whose defib was firing repeatedly and I didn't feel a thing. He did.

[TwoWheeler]

Thanks for all the good response to my question. Mine is a Medtronics made in Minn. installed in 2005. Two years later they issued a notice that with these they have been experiencing a problem with the lead wire from the device to the heart which could cause it to fire. Mine was just such a case and it fired twice in 20 seconds. No fun. They replaced it with a new model and a new old lead that has been on the market for 20 years. Been in two weeks now and hope it never fires.





A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

[bslayer]

Originally Posted by X'N

What brands you guys got? 98% of the implantable defibs are made within a few miles of my house.

I've heard you can give your girl a real good shock if it goes off when your makin bacon!

-thats what i was implying in previous post. wife said she got a good jolt also

[bslayer]

mine is a BOSTON SCIENTIFIC. as far as differences as stated above pace maker keeps the heart in a cerain rythm. defib works when pacemaker cannot correct problem. u cant have defib without pace maker, but u can have pacemaker without defib. most cases pacemaker will pace the heart back into a desired rythm but when it cant thats when all h**l breaks loose. a patient cant feel the paceing or the light shocks from trying to correct rythm, they only feel the actual shockfrom the defib, this is the same as what u see on tv when the doctor says CLEAR and person flops while on table.

[speedsville]

I too have a Boston Scientific, for 7 years now, luckily it has never fired.

Larry

[KD3NE]

Originally Posted by KeyWasted

I wish! I'd get one without needing it!

The most you might feel is a slight tingling if anything. I've been in contact (touching) a person whose defib was firing repeatedly and I didn't feel a thing. He did.

Perhaps something was missing, and there was surface resistance on your skin and theirs.

Like maybe moisture and tight contact would better allow for an impulse to travel between two people.

Let's just say that some skin is more sensitive and conductive!

[KeyWasted]

Originally Posted by KD3NE

Perhaps something was missing, and there was surface resistance on your skin and theirs.

Like maybe moisture and tight contact would better allow for an impulse to travel between two people.

Let's just say that some skin is more sensitive and conductive!

I can definitely see how the shock might be more pronounced if it fired while two sweaty people were chest to chest.

[speedsville]

Originally Posted by KeyWasted

I can definitely see how the shock might be more pronounced if it fired while two sweaty people were chest to chest.

And a positive to negative connection down below

Larry

[cybrhick]

My dad had a defib for years, and a pacemaker for the last 5 or so years of his life. One of the funniest things I remember was the defib going off in church one morning. It fired, he screamed out, and I'm sure half the folks there thought he had been "touched by the spirit" and was gonna start speaking in tounges.

[00 Doc]

Originally Posted by KD3NE

Perhaps something was missing, and there was surface resistance on your skin and theirs.

Like maybe moisture and tight contact would better allow for an impulse to travel between two people.

Let's just say that some skin is more sensitive and conductive!

The defib electrodes are just a few centimeters apart. The current travels from one electrode through the heart muscle to the other electrode. You would not feel any current outside the body.

[icopus]

I help design the computer chips for implantable cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators.

As I understand it, the patient cannot feel the pulse from a pacemaker because the current needed to pulse the heart is VERY small. So small, the patient doesn't know when it's pulsing.

However, comparatively speaking, the shock needed from a defibrillator to get the heart from a quivering state back into a proper beat is much more substantial. It's enough so that the patient knows when it happens, but is quite quick. Quick enough so that it does not pose a risk during routine daily activities. It's not at all like a taser! lol. However, you wouldn't want to be operated on by a surgeon who has an implanted defibrillator!

Because the electrodes of both devices are placed into the heart muscle, the needed current, volts, etc. is not strong enough to be felt outside the patient.

As you can see in the graphic, the implantations of the two devices are quite similar.


As far as the 'other' use for these devices,... forget about it. You're still better off with the old tried and true methods - romantic dinner, flowers, sweet talk, etc., etc.

[Gadget Guy]

Maybe you guys need to download a new map.

[jkplacke]

Originally Posted by bslayer

mine is a BOSTON SCIENTIFIC. as far as differences as stated above pace maker keeps the heart in a cerain rythm. defib works when pacemaker cannot correct problem. u cant have defib without pace maker, but u can have pacemaker without defib. most cases pacemaker will pace the heart back into a desired rythm but when it cant thats when all h**l breaks loose. a patient cant feel the paceing or the light shocks from trying to correct rythm, they only feel the actual shockfrom the defib, this is the same as what u see on tv when the doctor says CLEAR and person flops while on table.

I have a Guidant model with 2 leads. Boston Scientific took over Guidant shortly after mine was implanted. I have A-fib besides the racing heart problem. The ICD fires to jump my heart back to a slower pace otherwise the heart just quivers, beating so fast that no blood gets pumped. Since I've had it, it has gone off 4 times, one of them a double tap. Thankfully, I was not driving or riding when it has fired. Even though it's only a low shock (9 joules or so), it feels like someone sucker-punched you. On TV, they always seem to go up to 300 or 350 joules. My meds and adjustments to the target rate have kept mine from not firing for some 20 months now. The more times it fires, the faster the battery will need to be replaced.

[fuzzy]

Although a microwave doesn't have any effect on a pace maker my understanding is that standing over a running engine can have an effect.

Been riding since 2007, the same year I had the pace maker installed.

[iceman5218]

Originally Posted by bslayer

mine is a BOSTON SCIENTIFIC. as far as differences as stated above pace maker keeps the heart in a cerain rythm. defib works when pacemaker cannot correct problem. u cant have defib without pace maker, but u can have pacemaker without defib. most cases pacemaker will pace the heart back into a desired rythm but when it cant thats when all h**l breaks loose. a patient cant feel the paceing or the light shocks from trying to correct rythm, they only feel the actual shockfrom the defib, this is the same as what u see on tv when the doctor says CLEAR and person flops while on table.

I'm in the medical field and know bslayer and his wife. I ask the exact same question when he informed me of the situation. She had a pretty good smile on her face while he was explaining that it hadn't gone off while riding yet. Science can explain all they want to, but some things just have to be experienced.