Device Tones Made By A Medtronic ICD/CRT-D Device.
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2024
- Hear the 3 different audible tones a Medtronic ICD/CRT-D device makes. Learn when those tones might sound and what to do when you hear them.
**Warning** I am not a medical professional giving medical advice. Please talk to your doctor, device tech or patient services group to learn about how your specific device alerts work. Different manufacturer’s devices make different tones. Medtronic devices make three tones demonstrated and discussed in this video (Medtronic devices do not vibrate). Boston Scientific devices sound like a truck backing up (they also do not vibrate). St. Jude/Abbott devices do not make noise, instead they vibrate.
My 15 year old son had his ICD placement last year after an emergency septal myectomy. The beeps were explained at the time. Last week he got a high urgency alert during gym class (EP says nothing happened, not sure why alarm went off) and last night he got the low urgency alarm (ICD sent transmission, no word yet). He was feeling pretty anxious this morning; we found your video and watched it together. It really helped him feel less worried about his device, and as a mom it helped me feel less anxious too. Thanks for making it❤
A uk site has the following.,
Links get blocked . If you would like me to attempt - I will lol
Sometimes you can copy paste & a search will pull up that link & or just type your concern & review before entering .. look for non ad , medically based / sources - patent etc
Like..
If your your device has a fault or there is something wrong with a lead an alert will also be emitted
Therapeutic shock ..
you have received a therapeutic shock and your device is beeping then you should contact your ICD clinic immediately
Not all devices beep after a shock and not all patients need to see a Doctor after receiving a shock, but if you feel unwell or are anxious it is always worth contacting your ICD clinic and they will be able give you further information i.e. whether shock was appropriate or not.
Shock :
If you get an alarm because of a temporary situation i.e. you are in a magnetic field you should try to rectify the situation as quickly as possible by moving away from the source. You should be aware that if the ICD sound continues your device may be disabled and may not activate should you require it. This is a potentially dangerous situation to be in, but you should not panic - the likelihood of you needing your device to activate at that precise moment is extremely low. However, you should attempt to remedy the situation as quickly as possible and if the alarm continues after moving away from the triggering source, then you should contact your ICD clinic as soon as possible.
See your device manual & mfg site
If you have a home monitor and the ICD has been unable to communicate with it for a prolonged period of time you may receive an alarm. For short holidays and breaks the general advice is for people not to take their home monitor with them, but if you are away for a prolonged period it would be worth checking with your ICD clinic first so that you are not alarmed unnecessarily.
If you get an alert and are away from easy access to your usual clinic and need to find an alternative you may be able to get help from one of the ICD suppliers other centres
Please be aware that these are just examples of sounds you may hear from your device and they may be different from your actual one. It’s also worth reiterating that these alerts and sounds can be programmed for each individual and varies from clinic to clinic and patient to patient depending on experience, circumstances and operational factors
So happy I found your channel. I’m 31, just got an ICD and was otherwise totally healthy. I’m so scared but find comfort in your videos
Incredibly clear and useful. Thank you so much, Douglas, for taking the time to produce these clips
That was extremely helpful. Thank you!
Thank you, I'm so glad I found your page. I just got ICD. Listen to your post has help me so much. You explaining ICD has taken away some of the anxiety & fears. Thank you again
Just watched this because my Dad was driving and heard these tones described. None of us knew about the tones. He has had his PM for about 5trs+ now and just went through a bout with COVID. Thanks so much for the info!
Hello, Thanks very much for taking the time to make this video. My brother, who has a Medtronic ICD replacement implanted in 2016, called this morning to say that his device was beeping. In all of the years since it's original implant in 2009, we've NEVER known it makes any tone sounds and today is the first time that it has - on a holiday weekend when no one at Medtronics seems to be available. Your calm, in depth explanation gave us some perspective and also an indication of the inadequacy of the care and training he's received from both Medtronics and his health care providers about this device. Our sincere gratitude to you, Douglas. We've subscribed to your channel. May you always be well!
Thanks that was very helpful and would suggest all hospitals give this demo after fitting.👍
Thank you Doug, very helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to make the video. Very informative. I have a majic screen over the opening of my entrance door. The last 2 mornings as I was leaving I got the solid tone from my device. The magic screen works by strong magnets that seal the 2 sides of the screen together to keep insects out. Now I know why I was getting the tone! Thanx again!
Phil Leavitt, we have friends with the same kind of screen, but mine has never been set off by it. Good to know that can happen, but also good to know it causes no harm at all. Thanks for watching!
That was an amazingly helpful thank you so much
Thanks for the info ! I have a Medtronic CRT-D. The only sound we went over was the french police car sound, which my unit is programmed to emit on low battery, which should be over 7 years from now ! Once appt is booked to have replaced, they can turn off the alarm.Must check about what time of day to expect this, as I can imagine there could also be situations where I would rather not be when the alarm sounds!
My husband just got a magnet alert, which we figured out thanks to this video. He was freaking out and trying to get through to his cardiologist but I figured it out before he did. Thanks 😊
Thanks Doug. Very interesting and informative, was not told about these alerts when I had my ICD op just over 3 years ago. I searched for info after I heard 3 quiet beeps (not a truck or french police car noise) an hour ago and I am fairly certain it came from my device. My wife did not hear it and I felt perfectly OK so I'll see if it occurs again same time tomorrow before doing anything more about it.
Thanks so much Doug👍🏽
Great Info!
Thanks for the informations. You are a great help with those videos.. 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Douglas! This is great information. I had a high urgency alert yesterday which I thought was coming from the TV. It happened today at the same time and the TV wasn't on. I have an appointment with my electro-physiologist tomorrow. I have only had the Medtronics unit for a week so this is all new to me. Previously I had a St. Jude unit and a couple of weeks ago I got the vibration (Which is identical to a cell phone vibration) As the unit was 8 years old it meant a trip to the hospital by ambulance where the new unit was installed. Once again-Thanks!
I'm glad my video was helpful. And I hope your EP was able to give some answers as to why the device was beeping at you. Best of luck!
Lol, mine just went off and I looked at the time.... 8:10 am! I wasn’t sure what it meant so searched for some advice and found your clip. Thanks so much, also saved me a lot of anxiety and possibly a trip to the doc. Cheers mate from Sydney Aust.
iamthebroker excellent! I’m glad my video helped! :-)
Thank you for posting this. His went off. It was magnet induced. I was ready to take him to the hospital.
Love Lee thank you for saying that! If my video saved just one person a trip to the emergency room, then it was well worth the time spent making it. I’m glad it was helpful. :-)
Thanks a lot my device is sounding alarm and I was checking my iPhone or look for other sources of it .
I’m going for generator recharge next week. Thanks again
Thanks mate.
Thank_ You MEDTRONICS is GREAT
thank you john my class learned a lot from this
Your class...? I’m curious! What kind of class? I hope the info was helpful.
Thanks for video. Shame dr didn’t send us something like this
Thank you for making this video. My alarm just went off and we (my wife and kids were next to me) didn’t know what to think. I have a strong magnet on my phone case and it was close to my device. I know to keep magnets away from the device and usually do, but I wasn’t aware of the alarm. You saved me a lot of anxiety with your explanation!
Pat - That’s great! Thanks for letting me know. Alleviating anxiety and preventing unnecessary trips to the doctor or ER is exactly what I hoping to do. I’m glad the video was helpful to you. Take care!
Your awesome
I'm going to Metronics in a few days.
I have a crt d .. for 7 years I had the French policy car.. it went off n Sept 2019 October 2019 I got a device replacement I have original as a souvenir it still at times sirens off lol 😂 even outside of me kids neat
Mine just did this this morning (the old one). I am on my 4th CRT ICD and just had the new one implanted a week ago. I heard the French police car for about 10 seconds at 10 am which is when the old one sounded when it had a low battery. This morning I heard it, but was fainter than usual, and it scared the heck out of me - I was thinking "oh no" and I remembered I put the old one they gave me as a souvenir in a cabinet about 15 feet away from where I was sitting. My new one is app-enabled and so I sent a transmission in just so they can check everything and emailed the clinic as to what happened. But to do a test, I grabbed the old one (in a plastic bag) and held it over a Home Pod speaker (which I discovered inadvertently is strong enough to make the magnet tone go off if you're too close), and sure enough the French police car tone went off for about 10 seconds. So, appears it was never completely shut off. I am hoping that's what I heard at 10 am this morning, and it's not an issue with my new device.
Hi Douglas, thank you for this video. I have had my device for a long while and have experienced both high and low tone alerts and addressed them often. I also knew about the daily sound (which they can program to any time of day you would like if 8:10 ever becomes inconvenient). I also knew about the solid tone being magnet related... however one thing that has given me amazing peace of mind and I did NOT know and I am so glad I watched your video to the end was that if there was no alert you could put a magnet over it and get a solid tone knowing immediately that there were no alerts in the system. I watched your video, got up right away, picked up my magnetic dry erase marker board eraser and put it over my device. Much to my delight, it worked well and instantly. I can’t tell you how many mornings I have waited with bated breath for (6:15 AM) the time my morning device alarm sounds. I have even set my clock on weekends to make sure I hear it and don’t sleep through it. Your comment on giving back some control hits home. You’d be surprised how long 6:12, 6:13, and 6:14 can feel some days for me when I’m waiting for the clock to click to see if I made it one more day of sinus rhythm after ablations and such that I’ve had. Thank you for the video. Great info. A majority of what I do know took me years to learn. That is awesome you can provide the fast track for those that are newer to this and any bit of control you can give back to those of us who have struggled over the years is so meaningful.
Hi Sarah, thanks for the note! I’m glad my video was helpful. Just remember there’s a pay-off for using a magnet on your device. The tone the device emits takes energy to create. An engineer I spoke to told me that the 10 second tone “costs” about 22-24 hours of battery life each time it occurs. It’s not a big deal if you’re using a magnet on your device every so often, but it starts to add up if you use it every couple of days or more. It’s a nice option to have, though, isn’t it?
My mother and I heard a strange chime in the middle of the night, and imagine our shock when I leaned in and found it coming from inside her body! We quickly assumed it was the new pacemaker (about 4 months old, a replacement after 7 years). I ran to the internet to find out what it meant, and your video did help calm us down a bit until we could get to see the clinician. Your video mentions that Abbot devices don't play alerts, but hers is the new Abbot Gallant, the only one that apparently plays tones... just sharing this in case other Abbot Gallant owners come here looking for some answers :)
Yes, that’s true! Abbott’s newest devices dropped the vibration alert and also went to an audible tone. But I haven’t been able to find an example of what it sounds like. Can you describe what you heard? I’ve heard Medtronic’s two tones described as a French police car (high-low) and a truck backing up.
I recently was surprised by random alarm tones and thought I had a faulty Fitbit tracker (recent acquisition). Very annoying because each time my hair-trigger schnauzer went ape-sh*t regardless of the time of day or night, assuming someone was calling at our front door. Most exasperating until, just this morning at 3.15 AM, the 'penny dropped'. I had optioned my Fitbit with a you-beaut black mesh band equipped with a MAGNETIC clasp. As I had no idea my ICD even had audible alarms, little bit of customer service follow-up from my Electrocardiologist would have saved me and our household a lot of angst.
Thank you i was so scared when i heard a sounds come from my chest! I see my doctor next week anyway but wow!!!
It can be scary that first time, especially if you don’t know it can do that. Hopefully everything goes well with your check up!
@@DouglasRachac Thank you :)
Thank you so much. My Dads went off the last couple of weeks. My mom just kept running to her phone. Now we have made an appointment for Monday to get it checked out. Why dont they tell us this when the device was planted.
MoncyEsther, I wish there were better resources out there for device patients. Hopefully this info helps out. And I hope your dad’s appointment goes well on Monday.
yes my dad was not told also. and this keep making the French Police Siren Sound, like 4 times in the past 2 weeks. he also got dizzy right before it did the French Police Siren Sound. to day was the 4th time it went French Police Siren Sound. but he was not dizzy this time. now he went back to the hospital. some is wrong i and so scared. i love my dad. :( it is going off to many time close to each other almost like every other day.
I am monitored remotely by Medtronics. I have been told that if I have an episode that is worthy of a emergency room or doctor visit then I would get a phone call. I have had this "French police car" hi-lo tone go off in the am between 0600 and 0900 for the past 2 days. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from as I sat at my desk with computer and cell phone on charge. I ran the sound by my wife and she says: "Is it your pacemaker making the sound?" Which as the light bulb turned on, I typed in Medtronic alert sounds. Sure enough that is what it was. Like you said, it sounds different than when played to you outside of your body and hearing. Still no phone call. Now it is Thanksgiving and I know the VA is on a 4 day weekend. I will try Medtronics and see what there is to do if anything.
Hi Ernest, thanks for watching. I’m glad my video helped answer a few questions. If you’re hearing the “hi-low” tone it means something had occurred that your physician should take a look at. The fact that it’s only alarming once a day is a good sign. It means that while it’s an issue that should be reviewed, it’s not an urgent issue that has to be dealt with immediately. You should contact your clinic first thing Monday morning and get into see them. Unfortunately, in the meantime, you will hear that tone at roughly the same time every morning until you see your doctor.
If the frequency of the tones changes from once a day to every 4 hours either call your clinic’s after hours/emergency line (if they have one) or visit your local emergency room. A tone every 4 hours is a more urgent issue and one that should be addressed immediately. Even with a more urgent issue, your device has built in redundancies that will ensure your device will be there for you, should you need it. So, try not to worry about that.
Hopefully you’ll be able to relax this Thanksgiving knowing your device is watching out for you. Take care.
@@DouglasRachac Appreciate the heads up on the tone frequency rate. Like I said the last couple of days, in the same time window. Called the VA and the triage nurse told me she was not familiar with the devices but she said that if I wasn't feeling any different "it should be okay" and like you have said to contact my cardiologist on Monday. If something feels different we'll head to local ER 14 miles away.
My old defibrillator (taken out almost 4 years ago) started making the third noise (French police car) every 20 hours after being exposed to a strong magnet. You said there was something that caused the noise every 20 hours but it wasn’t very common. What was it? My docs can’t figure out how to turn it off and the noise has been happening every 20 hours for the past 10 month from this old device that is no longer implanted. 🤣 Any ideas would be great. Thanks!
Wow!~!
Is the third alarm supposed to go off even after a body is dead! My dad was placed on hospice. A Medtronic tech came in and turned off the pacemaker with a mouse looking magnet. My dad passed away next day in the morning. But what’s got me thinking is that 4 days later when we were at my dads private mortuary service his pacemaker made that third noise Twice in just around 20 mins difference. We called my dads cardiologist and he couldn’t explain why it went off. Could it have been something out of this world like his spirit ?? The guy who works at the mortuary said when he was changing my dad it also made a noise and he’s been doing that for over 15 yrs and never had that happen to him!!!
Wonderful video.
I am equipped with CRT-D. My question , Are these alarm tones heard by other persons around me or only I can hear them in my head? I hear sounds (solid tone) intermittently in my ears and I thought it was tinnitis. Regards
Good question! If you’re in a quiet room someone near you would likely be able to hear the tones from a Medtronic device. They are pretty loud. I have heard that Boston devices are quiet.
If you’re hearing a 10-second solid tone that’s probably your device letting you know you came into close contact with a magnet. That’s okay, just move the magnet away from your device and get back to your day.
I have never heard any sounds in 7 years .I have a bedside monitor. I get a call maybe once a month saying I had a 3 second shock or fast beat, no big deal.
Thanks for all the information, it helps immensely. One question, my son has a induction cooktop, can I get close to cook?
Hi Jeanete, thanks for watching! Yes, you can safely use an induction cooktop. The issue to be aware of is that the stove uses large amounts of magnetic energy to generate heat. That can interact with our devices, but we can mitigate that issue with distance. The recommended safe distance is 2 feet between the cooktop and your device. I explain a little more about how to be safe with an induction cooktop in this video: ruclips.net/video/9_dl8ANjdx8/видео.html I hope you find that helpful.
@@DouglasRachac Thanks 🙏
Hi Douglas, question for you. My dad has the Medtronic CRT-D and the OptiVol alert keeps going off daily at 930. We’ve done ECGs and echo and no fluid collection. But it keeps going everyday. My dad has travelled 6 timezones to london and diet has changed but curious if you know much about how the OptiVol reading works and when it indexes back to 0 and when we’d expect the alerts to stop going off.
Hi Sid, thanks for watching. There are some alerts that need to be “reset” once they start going off. That can only be done during an in-person visit. Is the Optivol alert going off even after being re-set? If so I’d suggest trying to organize an in-person visit with a Medtronic rep, and while you are face-to-face with them ask that they call their Technical Services team to troubleshoot the issue in order to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
I know I am a little late. I have the St Jude.. and it’s has vibrates. Such an odd feeling!
I what to know how you hear a tone if you need to clench it
Thank you! Do you know the tone given when the device battery is running low? We were told the device battery is good for 8 years. My husband received the defibrillator June 2013. We were told it will beep. Great video!
The devices come factory set to emit the "Hi/Low" tone when the batteries hit the Elective Replacement Indicator (ERI). That tone will occur every day at the daily alarm time until you visit your doctor. At that point the device will have anywhere between 3-8 months of battery life remaining, so that alarm is not a "drop-everything" alert. It's more of just a notice that the device will need to be replaced in the next few months.
@@DouglasRachac Thank you so much. That's plenty of time to get it replaced!
Can the high urgency sound be programmed to sound prior to getting a shock? This would be extremely useful, especially when driving a car.
I know this has been discussed at more than one medical device company, but as of now I don’t know of any devices that have the ability to emit an audible tone prior to a shock. It was deemed to be something patients wouldn’t appreciate, but maybe that needs to be revisited.
I have a question about pacemakers in general.
I have an elderly guy living In my house and he woke me up about 4 in the morning telling me he heard a noise like air leaking somewhere in the house. I checked everything and in the basement as well where my air compressor is, I thought maybe the air pressure safety valve had released,but that didn't happen. He said he covered his ears because it was so loud but that didn't help. Could this be an interference from possibly "smart meter" on the outside of my house, right outside his room? I understand they give off microwaves when they report/communicate with other meters.
Interesting question/problem. It doesn't sound like anything that came from the device. These tones are quite different from the sound you mentioned. And there's virtually zero chance a smart meter caused any issues with this gentleman's device. The only way it could even have the chance of interacting with his device is if he's standing right next to the smart meter (inches away) for an extended period of time. If not, there's no worry of any kind of interference between an implanted device and a smart meter. I hope that helps at least eliminate some possibilities.
I got my first pasmaker in my chest
I have been looking everywhere to see why my monitor beeped! I've had it for almost 4 years and I've only heard it one other time. And I had a significant episode and wasn't feeling well at the time. But weird thing is I'm feeling okay right now! Go figure. I don't understand. Praying my battery is just dieing. 🙏🙌
Hi Doug I don't know if your still on here.. I have a Medtronic ICD implanted 8 years ago. Just today it's started making the French police alarm at 1.42pm then 2.42pm then at 6.42pm 🤷🏼♀️ really odd an confusing! I feel fine, we think it's the battery warning ...
Hi Cassie, thanks for watching. It could be the low battery warning as you’ve had the device 8 years and it’s certainly possible that it’s time for a battery change. The French police car warning is known as the “high intensity” alarm, and those can sound off at different intervals. The 4-hour interval is a bit more urgent than the once-a-day alarm. Be sure to give your clinic a call in the morning and let them know it’s alarming every 4 hours, and ask what their instructions are. Unfortunately if it is toning every 4 hours it will continue to do that through the night, and won’t stop until you visit your doctor.
@@DouglasRachac thanks for replying, I'm just back from the hospital and it was a device issue which was corrected there and then. All good 👍🏻
@@cassiecrawford8971 Glad to hear it! Hopefully it was nothing terribly worrisome and you can get back to your normal routine. I'm glad it worked out.
When my lead broke I had the high urgency alarm, then I got shocked 10 times in a row. Very traumatic. Years later when my battery was low I got the same high urgency alarm. Naturally I pretty much freaked out thinking I was about to get shocked again. I also threw a donut magnet on cause I swore if I could help it I wouldn't allow an inappropriate shock again. ( I felt fine at the time). I was by my remote monitor when it happened so it picked it up and had already notified the device clinic by the time I called. Fast forward to when I was seen in person at the device clinic. I asked if they could program the alarm to be different between the broken lead...I guess high urgency alarm and low battery which also sounded like high urgency... english ambulance. They said they could not change it. Maybe they just didn't want to bother or maybe they didn't want to consult Doctor etc? I don't know.
I know the device is fairly new so you may not be able to tell me. Will the Medtronic micra (leadless pacemaker) emit the same tones or is the alert aystem completely different for leadless devices?
Great question! At this time Medtronic pacemakers and CRT-P devices do not have the capability to emit tones. Only the ICDs/CRT-D devices can do that. The micra pacemaker follows that pattern and does not emit any tones.
@@DouglasRachac Thanks very much for the info. I've been researching my options a great deal since my AV block presented in 2015. As you can only get so much info from Medtronic's website and they dont give info to people over the phone, it's been a challenge to be fully informed. The Micra seems like a good option as it will be of less impact on my body and a quicker recovery time . Again thank you for taking the time to provide info. Your videos have made this leg of my journey far less overwhelming/intimidating.
Dear Douglas Rachac
I have implanted methronic icd device six months ago i got a shock last night arount 2am the device started alarming like police vehicle what can be the issue?
The police alarm typically means the device sees something that is out of the ordinary. It would be best if you contact your doctor and ask for their directions. That alarm is usually something that needs to be looked into during an in-person visit.
Hey Doug I received mine a year ago and have been getting stronger every day. At 71 I still can't do like I was 31 or 41, however, I am doing better then I was ten years ago! I have a welders license for Aircraft and while I have not done a lot in the past ten years I have had an occasion where I needed to do some (before the PM). Now I have been told I can not do any welding. But I have come across the silver vests that are grounded, to carry all electromagnetic waves to the ground and eliminate the possible incursion of them on the PM. Can you tell if you have heard of others with PM doing anything like this and give me an idea of how to contact them? Thanks for any help you can give.
Robert - The general guideline given by medical device companies is “no welding”, but..... persistent patients have worked with different manufacturers to work out some reasonable safety precautions. Things like using less than 160 amps, and never coiling the cables are among the suggestions. I have a document produced by Boston Scientific that I can email you. Leave me your email address here and I’ll send that to you.
Not only the French but entire Europe as well.
Do the Tones drain any of the battery, such that the battery life is reduced?
They do, but it’s a really insignificant amount. Each time a device tones it takes about 1 hour of battery life off the device. I have made my device tone several times for my videos and even with all of those I have lost maybe a day and a half of battery life total. I hope that helps.
So I'm currently in hospital awaiting on an operation to have 1 of my ICD leads changed. 2 days ago I'm home unloading slabs from my van when I hear the 2 tone (French police car) alarm sound. I looked all around wondering what it was as nobody told me my device even had alarms. I soon figured where it was coming from and decided to stop what I was doing and go inside. My wife called 111 (UK non emergency) who advised going to A & E. So I jumped in shower and the French police car started to sound again! I came out the shower, got dressed and started to brush my teeth, halfway thru - BOOM! Like an explosion from inside my chest and all thru my body. Spat toothpaste and thru my toothbrush outta my hand... my 1st shock since getting the ICD in 2015. My wife then calls 999 who send and ambulance, then once loaded in the back I'm asked to take my top off, as I'm removing my right arm above my head to pull it out of the jumper sleeve - BOOM.. my 2nd shock. Pretty scared by now. Anyway get to hospital and during all the checkin processing and doctors deciding what to do my alarm still keeps sounding every now and then and by now every time ot sounds I'm pooping my pants. They then put a magnet next to me and say if it shocks you again we will put this magnet on which will turn off the shock.
I'm thinking well can you put it on now! Anyway they give me my beta blocker meds as I'd forgot to take mine for afew days and they thought that could be reason for my shocks and decided to keep me in overnight so they could check device the next day. Then in the early hours as I'm brushing my teeth again up on the ward so I could sleep and BOOM 3rd shock. Now I'm really stressed coz I know it's not the meds, but i also realise that every time i use my right arm above the head I got shocked! (My device is on my right side).
Then the nurse gets my the magnet and tapes it to my device so I can relax. However I wasnt able to relax or sleep. Too worried the magnet would fall off or I'd roll over and move my arm while sleeping. Device got checked and turns out I have a fractured lead. Nothing to do with my heart or meds. But I wish I'd known abit more before hand regarding alarms and magnets. Currently in hospital waiting for a repair on a device I currently no longer want inside me :/
DelBurn So sorry you are going through this. And I’m sorry you weren’t told that your device is able to give you an audible warning when something is amiss. This is, unfortunately, a common issue with ICD patients. But, now you know and will have a new lead that will hopefully not give you any problems. Keep a close eye on your mental health after this. Many patients who experience inappropriate shocks develop anxiety due to PTSD. If you see signs of anxiety creeping into your life don’t ignore it. Talk to a therapist and develop a plan to take care of it before it becomes an obstacle in your life, especially at home and at work. Best of luck to you!
@@DouglasRachac thank you for your response and advice.
I got four inappropriate shocks on my first ICD device back in 2007 due to a condition called "T-wave oversensing" - the new ones are supposed to be more sophisticated and have algorithms that minimize the chances of an inappropriate shock. I totally undersand the trauma and fear you experienced. I wanted mine out then, too. I'm on my 4th device and I STILL have anxiety about it, 15 years later. Did you successfully get the issue corrected and has it been trouble-free for you, since then?
@@MrStv1163 Hi, so while waiting in hospital for the lead change I told my cardiologist I didn't want the shock therapy turning on after surgery until I'd had time to get used to the idea of it again (I really had ptsd over the shocks) his response was 'Well then there's no point changing the lead and you might as well go home today' baring in mind I was 185miles from home with no transport and wouldn't be able to get someone to pick me up till the following day. Plus my wife wanted me to have the lead repaired, so I kinda felt pressured if I'm honest. So I had the repair and the device shock switched back on, then afew months later at a pacing check my device was giving a strange reading which they said was consistent with the new lead that had moved and they wanted me to be transferred back to hospital 185mile away there and then to have if fixed again!! This time I refused, said I needed time to think, it was pretty nerve racking and stressful, but in the mean time please switch off the shock part of my device so it can't accidentally shock me again (which is likely if a lead has moved and is giving false readings). The doctor initially tried to persuade me again to go get my lead changed but finally respected my wishes and switched my device to pacing only, which it has been on since and it all honesty I haven't regretted it one bit, I feel far less stressed and at peace. My only regret is that I had the device implanted at all. For me personally I don't feel I needed it. Turned out another few months later that at my next pacing check that my device was reading fine again and my lead appreared tp be back in place. Meaning I would of had it replaced for nothing if I had listened to the doctor. Thanks for your comment.
@@del80y Welcome, and I am glad it ended well for you. I have considered making the same request, but to be fair I've had 15 years and three different ICD's since my series of shocks (in 2007) with no new shocks, so my attiutude may be a little less rational than yours - if I had your experience I think I would most definitely have made that request to pace only! Getting shocked as you and I know (especially in the absence of medical need and especially multiple times) IS traumatizing, and I sometimes sadly think medical professionals who don't actually have the same experience don't have the same sensitivity about it that a patient who's actually experienced it would. Especially a full 35 Joule shock - and the new ones now deliver 40 J. I just had my new device implanted since my old one went low on battery after 7 years (and to be fair, it never shocked me) - I now have a Medtronic Cobalt XT CRT device which is their latest and greatest (last one was a Viva XT), and my anxiety level has gone up as I wonder if a lead will fracture or something will happen that will cause a shock. In 16 years of devices, I have not once had a sustained VT or VF event, though I do have PVC's, occasional Atrial Fibrillation, and I do have Bradycardia (slow heartbeat), which a pacemaker would correct. They put this thing in because my father died of sudden cardiac death and because my ejection fraction was
I don't get any tones just goes to my docs office a nd they alert me but nothing feels wrong?
Its possible that your doctor set up your device without any audible alerts. That's not normally how it is set up, but that is certainly possible. Normally the device sends an automatic transmission to your clinic, and you would receive an audible alert to let you know something was reported to your clinic.
I have never heard a tone coming from my device??? Do all devices make a tone??
Most defibrillators and CRT-Ds have the ability to emit audible tones. Most pacemakers do not have that ability. But a very small number of newer pacemakers can emit tones. This is something you can ask your doctor and device technician about the next time you’re at their office for a screening. If you have a device that can emit tones, the device tech should be able to play the tones for you so you can hear them coming from your device.
I've just had a 10 second alarm and I thought it was my mobile phone :-) Thanks to your explanation, I'm less worried about it. I realize now it was just a piece of magnet that came close to my device. Thanks! 😊😊
Will this siren tone be with me forever?
Hi Dexter, No, but the high-low tone will go off every day until you see your doctor. They can then reset it which makes it stop toning. I hope that helps.
Thank you. I have an appointment this week
I have St. Jude and it makes a noise... I call it weewoo weewooo weewoo... in series of 3. Just an fyi..FYI... thank you so much for your videos.
Thanks Lori. I had heard that their newest devices make noise, but I never knew what it sounded like. Do you have a pacemaker or defibrillator/pacemaker combo?
is this done by Nurse or cardiac physiologist..?
For my son, a Medtronic rep does the whole data download and device check, and she gives the data to the EP who looks at it and then comes talk to him.
How patient gain weight after icd implant
Do the tones come from your inside device?
Yes, the device itself is what makes the noises.
Yes, it's crazy. It comes from your device, and since that's inside you, it sounds really odd. Remember to ask your device tech to demonstrate the alarms the next time you're in the clinic.
Hmmmmm I've never heard these and I have had my ICD for 5 yrs! It's a Medtronic evera also. They must be turned off. I will have to ask at my next appt!
Tamaira, some of the alerts can be turned off, but others can’t. The good news is if you haven’t heard them coming from your device yet, that means it’s working correctly!
@@DouglasRachac yes you are right! 😊
Thanks so much!
What is the benefits of daily alarm
If, for some reason, your device detects a problem the daily alarm will sound which alerts you to the problem. If you hear an audible tone at the same time every day you should contact your physician. It likely means the device has detected an issue your physician should investigate.
The daily alarm is just a reminder that you should have your device checked. It only sounds off when there is an issue, and will continue to sound off every day until you see your doctor.
What is the alert that happens every 20h?
Hi Chris, Thanks for watching, and good question! This is from a Medtronic technical manual for the Evera devices: "An Electrical Reset alert sounds immediately and then every 20 hours thereafter. However, if the electrical reset disables tachyarrhythmia detection and therapy, the alert sounds immediately and then every 9 hours thereafter."
@@DouglasRachac Oh ok thanks!
My Abbott / St. Judd ICD makes sounds it does not vibrate.
Hi Jeppy, do you have a new Abbott ICD? In their most recent generation they switched from vibration to an audible sound. I believe this generation was launched in 2020. I haven’t been able to find much information about it, other than it is a six second two-toned (high-low) alert, and is a part of both their new ICD and pacemaker lines. If you have a recording of the tone I would love to hear it!
@@DouglasRachac yes I just got my ICD on December 22nd. It does not have a base station. It uses Bluetooth to connect to my cellphone. That is how it sends transmissions. I have the Abbott Gallant DR model CDDRA500Q. Hope that helps you find more information. I don't have a recording of the tones. I didn't think to get one.
When we went through these demonstrations I was 8 in now fifteen I’m living a good but limited life and it does suck I can’t do some stuff like a roller coaster but I don’t care there are people who can’t leave a hospital because they won’t know if something will happen
You may want to ask your physician about riding roller coasters again. There isn’t anything a roller coaster can do to harm your device, but some people are restricted from riding thrill rides because of their heart condition. I have an ICD and have no restrictions in my activities. I ride roller coasters, mountain bike, scuba dive, and have been cleared by my doctor to sky dive. So check with your doctor again and see what they say. Good luck!!
my dad as one and it keep making the French Police Siren Sound in 4 separate times in the last past days. we went to the hospital and thy say nothing wrong. so why does it keep making that French Police Siren? he gets dizzy then a few minutes after that it goes off French Police Siren. the last time it went off he did not get dizzy, but the last 3 time he did get dizzy and after a few minutes it will do the French Police Siren Sound. right now he went back to the hospital because it went off to day for the 4th time. it started doing this like 2 week ago give or take a day or 2 or 3.
Hi Joe, what I can tell you is this: the French Police car is what’s known as a High Intensity Alert. This is usually the sound you will hear when something a bit more serious is happening. When it occurs every 4 hours that is usually something urgent that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The most common reason why the French Police car sound is occurring every 4 hours is when the Lead Integrity Alert has been triggered. That means there’s a potential issue the device has discovered with the lead. That should be addressed immediately because a faulty ICD lead can lead to either inappropriate shocks, or shocks not being delivered appropriately when they are needed.
Now, sometimes (rarely) that alert will sound indicating a problem, but after a professional examines the device and leads they will find that really nothing is wrong and that the alarm was a false alarm. If that is what happened with your dad, I can understand that. It does happen occasionally. But the clinician will also reset the alert during the examination so that it no longer sounds off every 4 hours. If that sound returns your dad should definitely see his doctor again to have the device and leads checked again. I hope that helps explain things a little more.
@@DouglasRachac yes the told my father it went of for a second or 2. and when that happens is will block this heart. and thy think the cos of it is some kind of electrical device made it turn off. but the bath room does not have nothing that can do that. and we do not use wifi in the house as well. so now he cant go in any store or use this hearing aid for 2 week or use a cell phone
@@DouglasRachac what means truck backing up sound? i mean what issues can this be, like what?
i have St. Jude Medical - Allure PM3120 and have sounds.. first time i was hear french police car and poblem was in atrial lead which is dysfunctional, but luckily not very important in my case..
@@MrJani0951 Some large trucks, like delivery trucks, have a loud alarm that plays when the truck is backing up. It’s a loud “Beeeep-beeeep-beeeep-beeeep” sound. Some ICDs (Medtronic and Boston Scientific) make this sound when there is an issue.
@@MrJani0951 the alert tones can mean multiple different things. You won’t know which it is until your doctor interrogates your device. It can be something minor and of no concern, or something that is more urgent and requires more immediate attention. Unfortunately there’s no way to know.