In reality I pay very little attention to data produced by my pacemaker.
I check to make the App on the iPhone is always running and I sleep with the phone near my bed so they’re not far apart.
About once a month I get a message on the App and from my doctor that the App has successfully transmitted data to the provider and thankfully each time the provider has sent me a response that says, the data has been reviewed, and no further action needs to be taken.
I’ve only had the pacemaker since June of 2024, not even two years.
What was the reason you had the pacemaker implanted ???
I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve and to repair an aneurysm on my ascending aorta.
The pacemaker was implanted while I was in the hospital recovering from the surgery, my heart rate dropped to 30 beats per minute, it was during a walk around the Cardiac ICU, the nurse got me back into my room quickly and turn on the temporary pacemaker that I was connected to.
An electrophysiologist came in and reviewed my situation and determined I had gone into Stage 3 heart block and the only way to fix it was implanting a pacemaker, later that day I was hauled into another surgery to have the pacemaker implanted.
Since then, I’ve felt great and workout at a gym 4-5 times a week.
Well, I've had heart problems since I had a major heart attack just under age 40, in 1990. I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't take drugs (a nurse at the hospital didn't believe me).
Based on a lot of testing, my cardiologist implanted a strictly defibrillator first in 2007. The device triggered a couple of times, and it was decided to replace that device with a pacemaker/defibrillator in 2008(?). That device lasted for 11 years with a couple of shocks in between.
In 2019 the VA implanted the Medtronics device, which my cardiologist described as, "the Mercedes-Benz of pacemakers".
About 2 1/2 years ago I developed what a cardiologist described as "extreme atrial fibrillation" where no blood was passing through to the ventricle and I passed out while driving. I ran my beautiful Jaguar into the back of a pickup truck at a stoplight and destroyed my Jag. It was in town and I was only going about 20 mph. No one was hurt from the crash. I later went to the Cath lab for extension testing, but no cause was ever found.
The battery is running down and so we're expecting to replace the device this summer.
The device was recently the subject of a recall. The leads that go into the heart on some people were deteriorating and if you needed to be shocked, the shock wasn't strong enough. I think the problem is with the leads, not the pacemaker itself. They adjusted the device to shock me harder if needed in order to overcome the problem with the leads. Hopefully, I won't need it.
I may have given you a bit more information than you were actually looking for, but there it is. :)