A little background: my mom had a pacemaker put in about 8years ago (she’s 86). It was a good decision, she was healthy, active, it gave her several good years. Fast forward to today, she has dementia (worsening quickly...usually thinks I’m her mother), she’s blind, has breast cancer, COPD, can barely walk, incontinent, and suffers from anxiety. I am her health care proxy and her POA as well as full time caregiver. I feel as though if the pacemaker wasn’t there her heart just would have slowed down and eventually stopped. Nature taking its course. On her health care proxy she had specified that if she was not going to recover from her illnesses she did not want to be kept going by any artificial means. Although it doesn’t specifically mention a pacemaker couldn’t it include this? Has anyone ever requested a pacemaker be deactivated? What kind of response did you get from the doctors? Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I had a friend whose grandfather had a pacemaker. The grandfather was 102 years old and had a very irregular heartrate that varied from 82 to 120 beats per minute. When he “died”, his heart rate stopped being irregular at 11:30 AM, however, he had a pulse (which was very regular and matched the pulse rate set on the pacemaker) until 1 PM when the doctor turned off the grandfather’s pacemaker.
Do pacemakers work even after death? See the article posted by Science Illustrated on February 27, 2012:on scienceillustrated.com.au/blog/medicine/ask-us-will-pacemakers-still-work-after-death/ which gives a good explanation of how the pacemaker works when someone dies. I hope that this helps answer some of your questions.
Your mother's pacemaker supporting her heart function is one thing - it's maintaining function. But if, God forbid, for example, she had had an infarction the pacemaker couldn't have stopped it.
Or. The pacemaker maintains electrical activity and keeps contractions going. But if the valves of the heart don't close, or if the muscle of the heart weakens beyond a certain point, the heart will cease to function as a blood pump. The pacemaker will not prolong life.
Normally I'm very interested in learning more about things but I'd rather stop thinking about it for now.
[Sorry, DeeAnna, I've only just seen your links which I will look forward to visiting another time - thank you]
Earlier you stated that the pacemaker:
“was a good decision, she was healthy, active, it gave her several good years. Fast forward to today, she has dementia (worsening quickly...usually thinks I’m her mother), she’s blind, has breast cancer, COPD, can barely walk, incontinent, and suffers from anxiety.” Msweeney, are you regretting that your mother got a pacemaker eight years ago because your mom now has so many health problems?
Please forgive me for asking such a personal question, but I think that it is something you need to consider. I get the feeling that you are angry that your mom is so sick and that you are blaming the pacemaker for her many health problems. We all get angry when our parent’s health starts to decline or worsen. We all want our parents to be the healthy persons they used to be. Unfortunately, “LIFE” doesn’t work that way. We all get sick and we all die. Sorry if I have added to your misery or emotional pain.
Countrymouse, I agree with you...I'd rather stop thinking about it for now.
This is a very personal and emotional subject that we are discussing. Unfortunately, it won't get any easier to talk about or think about for quite some time.
Msweeney, God is HOPE (Romans 15:13) -- God is COMFORT (II Corinthians 1:15) -- God is WITH YOU (Isaiah 41:10) I am praying for you with faith, hope, and loving care. DeeAnna
I appreciate the scriptures, I do have faith, especially in the resurrection (Acts 24:15). That's what makes it hard, some days I just pray that she falls asleep in death because I believe she's better off in that state than how she's living now.
Thank you all for your comments and kind words, this discussion has given me a lot to think about.
Thank you for your kind words. Interesting that you had a compassionate cardiologist who agreed to turn off your mother’s pacemaker. I’m sorry for your loss but happy to hear she went peacefully in her sleep. Did she have the defibrillator type?
When I brought it up at her pacemaker check the cardiologist could not shoot me down fast enough. He said all it would do is make her a fall risk. He told me that we didn’t have to replace the battery, which has about 4 to 5 years left. He could not get out of the room fast enough, to be honest.
Another poster had recommended the book “Knocking on Heavens Door” so I read it and it was very good. I could completely relate to the author’s position and feelings of helplessness as she saw her father deteriorate to just a shell of a person while his pacemaker kept his heartbeat steady....
Unfortunately it’s looking as though keeping my mother at home is not going to be realistic much longer. I just physically can’t do it. So instead of a peaceful death at home in her bed I’m afraid it will be a long drawn out life of suffering in a nursing home. It’s breaking my heart.
Yes, it's breaking your heart, but maybe not for the reason that you have stated. It is breaking your heart, because you will no longer be the person taking care of your Mom. Strangers, "professional caregivers", will be taking care of your Mom--and that hurts a lot. It also hurts because you will not be with your Mom 24 hours/day anymore.
Please give the nursing home a chance. Let the nursing staff show you just how loving thy can be towards your Mom. You might be surprised.
...the heart can easily stop beating in spite of the pacemaker still emitting electrical impulses. And if the heart tires over the years and no longer has the power to contract, or if a coronary thrombosis (blood clot) occurs, the pacemaker is of no help.
I guess this is a touchy subject.
In my opinion, an artificial device implanted in a body, is a foreign object ("artificial means"). Implanting it gives the person more years to live. Turning it off or taking it out can change the heart functioning, possibly causing a cardiac change that could end in death.
The difficult part is some people would think you'd be playing God by turning it off. The same thing if you removed a feeding tube, stopped life saving medication or turned off a ventilator. Some would think she's "not bad enough" for intervention yet.
I don't believe that it's humane to keep a suffering person alive artificially, if there is no chance of recovery. You believe she is suffering and has no quality of life.
I don't believe that you want to be rid of your mom and the constraints of her diseases. It sounds like you are trying to comply with your mother's wishes. This is a personal issue, with no right or wrong answers.
I doubt you'd find many cardiologists that would turn off a pacer. I'm sure they're worried about being sued when the patient dies and the family member that wanted it off has changed their mind.
I'm sorry your mom may have to go into a NH. I had to place my mother also because I was no longer able to lift and reposition her. Life doesn't always go the way we plan it.