I recently posted about my demanding mom and got so many helpful replies and I thank you all.
My mom has a pacemaker and she's 89. The pacemaker was implanted because she has bradycardia (slow heartbeat). She has CHF, arthritis, fibromyalgia, sciatica, and non-diabetic neuropathy. She smoked for over 68 years and only stopped after the CHF diagnosis. She's starting to have a harder time walking and doing things around the house.
She recently told me she needs more assistance and wanted to move in with me and I said no. Other options will have to be explored.
My question is to others who have (or had) parents who had pacemakers: how long has it kept your parent alive? And has anyone passed while having a pacemaker?
Just wanting to prepare myself, I guess.
Thank you.
My dad died from his CHF, even with the PM/defib his heart couldn't pump the blood through his system.
I do know that it improved his quality of life, he wasn't exhausted all the time when he had them installed. He lived for 10 years and the 1st 5 were greatly improved by this hardware. The last 5, he was struggling but, he did pretty good with assistance.
So again, it is unlikely, with a pacer, that your Mom will die of a slow heart rate. But she certainly may die of any other condition.
Look up pacemakers online and you will find a wealth of information.
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I’m really serious with this question. I am not joking. Can it be turned off? All she does is complain that she is living too long. And I have agreed with her. It has NOT improved her quality of life.
Can the cardiologist turn it off if she requests it?