I had my pacemaker, a St. Jude Identity XL DR, implanted on July 4th. I was looking at the paper printout of the settings they gave me and I noticed that there were 2 columns. One column labeled 'initial' and the other labeled 'actual'.
In a few cases the figures were not the same. For example, in the Ventricular Stimulation configuration the initial figure is set as unipolar and the actual column indicates bipolar. Another example is the max hear rate is 110 in the initial column and 130 in the actual.
Can anyone fill me in on what the difference is between these two columns. Also, what is the difference between unipolar and bipolar?
I had my pacemaker, a St. Jude Identity XL DR, implanted on July 4th. I was looking at the paper printout of the settings they gave me and I noticed that there were 2 columns. One column labeled 'initial' and the other labeled 'actual'.
In a few cases the figures were not the same. For example, in the Ventricular Stimulation configuration the initial figure is set as unipolar and the actual column indicates bipolar. Another example is the max hear rate is 110 in the initial column and 130 in the actual.
Can anyone fill me in on what the difference is between these two columns.
As it sounds. Initial settings were the factory defaults.
Quoted message said:
Also, what is the difference between unipolar and bipolar?
It is the electrical configuration of the leads. Unipolar means that the current goes in one direction down a lead. The circuit is completed though your body. Bipolar means that the circuit is completed within the lead.
Your close. The inital column represents the settings that were present at the beginning of the interogation session of your pacemaker.. The second column represents the current settings after any programming was done, (if any)at the end of the session.. This allows for the MD to see what was done to your pacemaker and where it was and where it is now. Some may show the parameters of the previous tests as well as what it was presently. As for unipolar and bipolar Dr Chung gave a good explaination. I would like to add to it. For many years a unipolar lead was used in pacemakers. This lead as he explained sent electric from the tip of the lead through your body fluids to the pacemaker. This type of lead system had a number if disadvantages one of the biggest was that since the antena was your body a lot of noise could be picked up by the lead and confuse the pacemaker was to whether it was sensing muscle electric, noise or heart beats. It worked but there were problems. Today, while many pacemakers are manufactured to work with both unipolar and bipolar leads it is generally accepted that bipolar is better. What this lead has is, two wires wrapped up in a sheath. The current travels down one and then returns back through the other. This eliminates the noise and gives a direct route back.This eliminates the electrical interference problem. Sometimes if there is a problem with the insulation of the lead on just one side of the lead for any reason it is possible to reprogram the pacer to unipolar and not have to replace the lead. I am sure that you realize that it is very important that your pacemaker be checked by a trained person at lead twice a year in the office so that your battery life can be optimized and your sensing and pacing threshold can be adjusted as needed. Other things may be noted by this check in person in the office or clinic.. Your pacemaker acts like a heart monitor. It looks at the electrical activity that is occuring within the heart and saves the information as to how many episodes of high rates you may have had.and how many arrhythmias. It stores this information and it may be useful in following your cardiac status and selecting your treatment. It keeps a recording of how much of the time you are pacing. If you have a two lead pacemaker how much pacing is down in each lead, as well as how much your own intrinsic rhythm is present. These are just a few of the things that are represented by your printout. Please keep in mind that transtelephonic checkups are not able to obtain any information in areas other than battery life, through the use of a magnet and what your rhythm and pacing is doing in just a few short minutes. This type of check is good for pacermakers that are getting up in years and have declining battery voltage. In this care it would be a good time to use transtelephonic monitoring in between your regular checks which will be more frequent. If there are any more questions I can help you will please feel free to email me.
