My mom had a pacemaker put in on June 3, and since have been short of breath everyday. She can not walk from her couch to her front door without being short of breath. She can not take a bath nor vacuum her floor without being out of breath. She has even experience several episodes of chest pain on the left side and in the center of her chest. What do we need to do at this point? I have talked with the surgeon that put it in and he only said to see her heart doctor which can only see her on July 30. Is this something serious that we need to head to the er with?
Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand your situation and problem. In my opinion she is having congestive cardiac failure (CCF) mostly because of underlying heart disease. So consult cardiologist and get done1. ECG2. 2d echo3. Coronary angiography (If needed). Many times pacemakers do not give desired effect because of underlying poor functioning myocardium. So in such cases, pumping function of heart is impaired and can cause fluid overload. Fluid accumulate in the dependent parts of the body like lower limb, abdomen and lungs. In lungs, it will cause pulmonary edema. And this cause breathlessness on exertion. So she may need diuretic a and cardiac isotropic Chat Doctor.  So consult cardiologist and discuss all these.