Hi everyone. My husband has had Parkinson’s since 2009. He’s been ok until two years ago when symptoms got worse very quickly. He also has postural hypotension (low BP) and the docs have been reluctant to increase his parky meds as that may make his BP worse. He now takes Fludrocortisone for that and it seems to work. But because he has also had complete blackouts on occasion which have involved falls, he’s been referred to cardiology for heart checks. Results showed his heart rate (beats per minute) is too low at times which probably caused the blackouts and cardio consultant has recommended a pacemaker. He was keen to point out that a pacemaker won’t improve my husband’s low BP, but I wondered if anyone on here who’s had a pacemaker fitted has noticed any other effects on parky symptoms. One of the symptoms of low heart rate is extreme fatigue but as we know, that can be a symptom of Parkinson’s too. I am hoping the pacemaker may help alleviate some of that fatigue. But maybe I’m just wishful thinking?
Hello suzyr,
Thanks for getting in touch and for sharing this. Our forum members may be able to provide you with some peer to peer advice, but we’d also recommend popping our helpline a call on 0808 800 0303 and our team can offer some advice.
All the best
Parkinson’s UK Moderation Team
We are in a similar boat and found the pacemaker really helped with blackouts and general energy, even if it did not touch BP. It did not change Parkinsons symptoms directly but less fatigue made daily life a bit easier 
Hi and thank you so much for your reply. We have the follow up consultation with the cardiology consultant this week following a further echocardiogram recently so should know more soon about when it can be done. My husband is understandably very nervous about the whole process even though he realises it is in his best interests and may hopefully help with his fatigue too. I’m nervous as well but the last few months have been so scary because when he blacks out it’s without any warning. So far he’s been lucky in that he’s only suffered bruising after the falls but that could change at any time and he could end up in hospital with broken bones or worse. I’m terrified to let him out of my sight at the moment tbh and that limits my freedom. He does wear a monitoring device that detects falls but I am still terrified to leave him alone. And that’s hard for him as he feels guilty at the worry it’s causing me. We’re trying to be positive though and hoping the pacemaker will help even if only by giving us peace of mind that the sudden blackouts won’t happen.