2 ms·
A friend had one of these units that extended his life for over a decade. He had it upgraded at least once, and the programing updated several times, and noted
by toss1 4y ago
A friend had one of these units that extended his life for over a decade. He had it upgraded at least once, and the programing updated several times, and noted improvements each time (although he never got the one feature he really wanted [0]). So active maintenance is definitely not spurious or mercenary but is genuinely useful.
[0] When the pacemaker detected a problematic arrhythmia it would give a couple of defibrillation shocks just like the paddles but right on the heart muscle. He said this felt like getting kicked in the chest by a horse and came completely out of the blue with zero warning. So it could be quite disruptive. He wanted a feature where it would tingle or beep or something just a few seconds ahead of time so he could mentally prepare; apparently the second one that was expected was a lot less traumatic. Anyway, the docs thought it was a good idea, and passed it up, but it never happened before he passed.
- leeoniya 4y ago> He wanted a feature where it would tingle or beep or something just a few seconds ahead of time so he could mentally prepare; apparently the second one that was expected was a lot less traumatic. reminds me of the pre-safe sound prior to collision https://www.mercedesbenzofnatick.com/new-features-mercedes-benz-comand-system.htm https://www.mercedesbenzofnatick.com/new-features-mercedes-b...
- toss1 4y agoYes, it does — Thx for reminding me of that!
- WastingMyTime89 4y agoThat’s an implantable cardiac defibrillator not a pacemaker. Completely different things.
- toss1 4y agoIt had both functions, at least according to my friend; he was an engineer and he described both in some detail.
- bobbob1921 4y agoI’m not clear on what he was supposed to do in response to this. Is it a situation where if he were to sit down and relax he could resolve the arrhythmia? Or is this a notification mechanisms that he can then alert his doctors? (My question is why was this designed to be an extreme “notification “)?
- toss1 4y agoHe just wanted some kind of warning to get himself mentally prepared or braced for the kick - maybe take a quick breath, pull out of the way a tool he's using, whatever, or just reduce the surprise factor. As he said, the second one that he knew was coming was not such a big deal. It was definitely not to try to resolve it, that was up to the pacemaker/defib.