{"id":3118,"date":"2018-04-13T15:05:57","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T20:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=3118"},"modified":"2018-04-26T10:06:18","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T15:06:18","slug":"dual-chamber-pacemaker-restores-quality-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/dual-chamber-pacemaker-restores-quality-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Dual-chamber pacemaker restores quality of life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helen Luth, 87, of Newman, Illinois, hadn\u2019t been feeling quite herself. She was experiencing chest pain, lightheadedness, confusion and tiredness.<\/p>\n

Years prior, Helen had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation \u2013 or irregular heartbeat. She underwent two ablation procedures<\/a> \u2013 a procedure that destroys the heart tissue causing the irregular heartbeats \u2013 to correct the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy symptoms had all come back again,\u201d Helen said. \u201cI would sit down to watch TV and all of a sudden I would experience severe chest pain, and the pain would go up my neck. I didn\u2019t have the energy to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was also having trouble with her memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would lose my train of thought in the middle of a sentence,\u201d Helen said. \u201cMy son and granddaughter thought I might need memory care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helen knew she needed to be checked by her cardiologist, Dr. Abraham Kocheril<\/a> at OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finding a solution<\/h2>\n

When she explained her symptoms to Dr. Kocheril, he thought there was a strong probability it was due to an irregular heartbeat.<\/p>\n

To correlate her symptoms with what he thought was atrial fibrillation<\/a>, a heart loop recorder was implanted in Helen\u2019s chest \u2013 a small device to record the heart\u2019s electrical activity. The results weren\u2019t good.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelen\u2019s heart rate was dipping to 30 beats per minute at times, which is very low,\u201d Dr. Kocheril said. \u201cA healthy heart beats between 60 and 100 times per minute. The symptoms she was experiencing were caused by her low heart rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on the loop recorder findings, Dr. Kocheril believed Helen would be an excellent candidate for a dual-chamber heart pacemaker.<\/p>\n

A dual-chamber heart pacemaker doesn\u2019t allow the heart to dip below a programmed heart rate. It also ensures that the atrium \u2013 the top chamber of the heart \u2013 and the ventricle \u2013 the lower chamber of the heart \u2013 beat in sync with one another.<\/p>\n

\u2018The old Helen is back\u2019<\/h2>\n

On February 5, 2018, Helen underwent the one-hour procedure performed by Dr. Kocheril at OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center<\/a> in Urbana.<\/p>\n

Helen spent one night in recovery and was back home the next day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exciting new feature pacemakers have today is that a patient can have an MRI done without needing a professional to manually switch the pacemaker to a safe mode prior to the MRI and then reprogram the pacemaker after the MRI is complete,\u201d Dr. Kocheril said. \u201cNow, the newest pacemakers can detect magnetic fields from MRIs automatically. That\u2019s important because people with heart conditions often need MRIs, so it takes a step out of the process and makes it more convenient for the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Helen has regained her quality of life back. She is more active and her memory has improved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have felt much better since my surgery,\u201d Helen said. \u201cMy son and granddaughter even commented that my memory and thought process is much better, and they have their mom and grandma back.\u201d<\/p>\n

After her surgery, Helen went to see a neurologist to rule out Alzheimer\u2019s or Parkinson\u2019s disease due to her memory loss symptoms prior to her pacemaker implant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe neurologist said I didn\u2019t have either one of the conditions,\u201d Helen said. \u201cSo I have to believe it was from my heart not pumping blood to my brain quick enough before I got the pacemaker. I feel so much stronger and thankful to Dr. Kocheril for what he\u2019s done to my life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Helen Luth, 87, of Newman, Illinois, hadn\u2019t been feeling quite herself. She was experiencing chest pain, lightheadedness, confusion and tiredness. Years prior, Helen had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation \u2013 or irregular heartbeat. She underwent two ablation procedures \u2013 a procedure that destroys the heart tissue causing the irregular heartbeats \u2013 to correct the problem. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[105,223],"tags":[751,747,722],"coauthors":[690],"class_list":["post-3118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardiovascular","category-patient-story","tag-afib","tag-osf-heart-of-mary","tag-pacemaker"],"yoast_head":"\nDual-chamber pacemaker restores quality of life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Helen Luth, 87, of Newman, Illinois, hadn\u2019t been feeling quite herself. 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