Question:
What Agent Orange related heart issues would require a pacemaker implant?
Jim's Reply:
Only one heart related issue is approved as presumptive for agent orange. IHD - Ischemic Heart Disease - refers to the condition where the arteries that supply fresh blood to the heart muscle itself are obstructed. In the civilian community this is most often called Coronary Artery Disease or CAD.
Your heart is a 4 chambered pump that is electrically powered and controlled. The pump is the muscle of the heart itself and controlling how the pump works there's a wide network of nerve fibers imbedded throughout the muscle of the heart. An electrical impulse is generated at a starting point in the heart muscle and it fires a timed stimulus across the heart resulting in a single heartbeat...repeat as needed.
A patient who has IHD may have heart attacks that cause scarring in the heart muscle and then an irregular heartbeat. The irregular heartbeat may be too fast, too slow or just erratic. A pacemaker or an Automatic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (AICD) may be implanted to control the rate and rhythm of the heart.
Think of it as having had a storm hit that interrupted the electrical grid to your neighborhood. Your power may be sketchy, somewhat erratic or worst case...it can go out completely. A pacer is like FP & L coming to the rescue and setting up a new grid.
Ask your doctor to document to your record that your pacemaker is required due to damage to the heart from IHD resulting in electrical malfunctions.
Good luck sir.