My daughter s 23 year old female friend was having a tilt test today. She has had episodes of unexplained fainting. Within three minutes of beginning the test, she passed out. It took 18 minutes to get her stabilized. She is scheduled for a pacemaker tomorrow. What are the challenges this young lady will experience being so young with a pacemaker? She has always been healthy and active- a college cheerleader. She even worked out last night at the gym.
Hi, Thanks for writing in. It is possible that your daughter is having a cardiac rhythm disorder. This might have been obvious due to passing out in the tilt test. This calls for detailed electrophysiologist examination. A pacemaker is a protective device that will monitor her heart rate and bring it back to normal should there be any variations at any time. This will prevent sudden fainting and will avoid dangerous situations leading to the heart malfunctioning. This lady will lead a normal life throughout, but there are certain points to be recorded and made available during future medical visits. pacemakers are electronic equipment and going near a magnetic field or getting an MRI scan might be harmful. Please clear this information from the doctors doing the pacemaker implant surgery and re confirm with the manufacturer by reading the product brochure.