Latest news with #pacemaker
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Modern Family star details shock health battle as she reveals she got pacemaker aged 29
Modern Family's Julie Bowen has revealed she was fitted with a pacemaker at just 29 after her sister spotted that she had a really low heart rate. The actress, 55, who portrayed Claire Dunphy on the ABC sitcom from 2009 to 2020, opened up about her health woes during an appearance on the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum. During the episode, which aired on July 1, Julie spoke candidly about struggling with the heart rhythm disorder sick sinus syndrome, which was caused by increased activity in her vagus nerve, a condition called hypervagotonia. She explained that it was her sister, Annie Luetkemeyer, who initially diagnosed her with the condition. Julie recalled Annie had just graduated from medical school when she stopped to listen to her heart. 'She was at that time in her life when she, I guess, she always carried around a stethoscope. And we were on vacation, and she was like, "I wanna listen to this." 'She was like, "That is not what they've been telling you, and it's not runner's heart or whatever. That means you need to go to a cardiologist."' According to Julie, her sister 'wouldn't let it go. I was like, "I'm fine." She would not let it go.' One month later, after filming the pilot of Ed, which premiered in 2000, Julie went and got a pacemaker fitted. 'I was like, "Oh my God. My life is over. This is so weird. I'm gonna die." I don't know what I thought it was, because I was 29.' 'You're lucky you didn't die before that,' Michael, 52, commented. 'They said I wouldn't probably die of it, but I'd start passing out,' Julie replied. 'There was a vague feeling... whenever I was relaxed, really relaxed, I'd be watching TV or movie. 'It felt like I'd been holding my breath for a while, that feeling of light-headedness.' The normal resting heart rate for women, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is between 60 to 100 beats per minute. Before having her pacemaker fitted, Julie's resting heart rate was in the 30s. Julie added that despite having the batteries replaced three times, she often forgets that she has a pacemaker at all. This isn't the first time Julie has spoken candidly about her health. In 2023, the actress spoke candidly about getting plastic surgery as soon as her hit TV show Modern Family came to an end in 2020. 'I finally got the stomach fixed,' Julie revealed while holding her belly during an appearance on The View. 'Finally, after all these years. They ripped it open, the twins just ripped it,' she said referencing her 16-year-old sons Gus and John. 'And I said, "As soon as Modern Family is done... I'll get it fixed." But it was 11 years! So 11 years later, we wrapped on Friday and Monday they went in and they do you like a sneaker,' Julie said. Julie earlier noted that she was age 39 and pregnant with twins when she filmed the pilot episode of Modern Family. The actress also has 18-year-old son Oliver with her ex-husband Scott Phillips.
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Modern Family star Julie Bowen thought she was ‘gonna die' after her health diagnosis at 29
Julie Bowen is opening up about her health. The Modern Family star, 55, told Michael Rosenbaum on Tuesday's episode of his Inside of You podcast that she has sick sinus syndrome, a type of rhythm disorder that affects the heart's natural pacemaker, per the Mayo Clinic. Bowen's condition is called hypervagotonia, which is increased activity in the vagus nerve, according to the National Institute of Health. 'I have a low resting heart rate,' she explained, noting that her pacemaker is 'set so that it can't go below 45.' Before the pacemaker, Bowen's resting heart rate was in the 30s, when the 'normal' resting heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute for women. The Hysteria! star's sister diagnosed her condition while the two were on a getaway. Bowen shared that her sibling, Annie Luetkemeyer, had just graduated from medical school and 'was at that time in her life when she, I guess, she always carried around a stethoscope. And we were on vacation, and she was like, 'I wanna listen to this.'' 'She was like, 'That is not what they've been telling you, and it's not runner's heart or whatever. That means you need to go to a cardiologist,'' the Happy Gilmore star remembered. 'I was like, 'I'm fine,'' the actress shared, adding that her sister 'would not let it go.' A month later, Bowen shot the pilot for the NBC series Ed alongside Tom Cavanagh. The comedy/drama ran from 2000 to 2004. 'I shot the pilot of Ed and immediately had to go get a pacemaker afterwards,' Bowen said. 'I was like, 'Oh my God. My life is over. This is so weird. I'm gonna die.' I don't know what I thought it was, because I was 29.' 'You're lucky you didn't die before that,' Rosenbaum, 52, responded. 'They said I wouldn't probably die of it, but I'd start passing out,' Bowen clarified. 'There was a vague feeling … whenever I was relaxed, really relaxed, I'd be, like, watching TV or movie.' The Hubie Halloween star described it felt like she'd 'been holding my breath for a while, that feeling of, like, light-headedness. And they said, 'You're gonna be driving a car, and you're gonna pass out, and you're gonna kill somebody.' And I was like, 'Oh, well, then give me the Goddamn pacemaker.'' Bowen has had the batteries replaced three times; however, she admitted, 'I forget about it all the time.' These days, the Boston Legal star hasn't let her condition slow her down one bit. In fact, she's starring in the upcoming sequel to the beloved 1996 sports comedy Happy Gilmore. Bowen is reprising her role as Virginia Venit, the love interest of Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, but didn't know if she'd be asked back for round two. 'I thought, 'Well I won't be in it,'' Bowen told The Hollywood Reporter in June. 'And that was OK — it was like Virginia Venit, it's been 30 years, he's got a hottie. He's got some little bitty on the side, like a cart girl,' she continued. 'As a matter of fact my children told me, before I was even told officially that there was a Happy Gilmore sequel, my now 18-year-old said, 'Mum, I hear they're doing a sequel and he's with Sydney Sweeney as a cart girl.'' Bowen teased, 'I went, I'm hurt and I so respect that move. Of course, why wouldn't you? So when I got the call that I was actually in it, I was like, 'Are you sure? Come on.'' Although Sweeney, 27, isn't in the film, the sequel is set to have a slew of new faces, including Bad Bunny, Margaret Qualley, Benny Safdie, Travis Kelce, Kym Whitley and Eminem. 'Seeing Bad Bunny on set I was just like, 'Oh, I can't actually look you in the eye, I'm going to have to walk away,' and I did,' Bowen recalled. 'I think he was offended and I had to circle back and now I made it worse. I'm the kind of person who doesn't want to meet her heroes because I think I'm just going to be a jackass.'
Medscape
a day ago
- Health
- Medscape
Pacemaker Needs Rise After TAVI Procedures in Spain
TOPLINE: The incidence of implantation of a permanent pacemaker immediately after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) increased significantly over a period of 6 years in Spain, and this rising trend remained independent of sex, age, comorbidities, or procedural volumes at the hospitals. METHODOLOGY: Researchers in Spain conducted a retrospective observational study using data from a national hospital discharge database to analyse the incidence of pacemaker implantation immediately after TAVI. They analysed 20,826 episodes of TAVI performed between 2017 and 2022 in patients older than 60 years without a prior pacemaker. The primary outcome was the implantation of a permanent pacemaker during the same hospitalisation as the TAVI procedure. TAKEAWAY: Overall, 16.8% of patients required the implantation of a pacemaker, with the yearly incidence of implantation increased from 15.2% to 18.2% from 2017 to 2022 (P for trend < .001). The rising trend in pacemaker implantation was independent of sex, age, or burden of comorbidities and was not significantly influenced by the annual volume of TAVI performed at the hospitals. IN PRACTICE: "[The study] findings are clinically relevant and should be considered when selecting patients and optimising the procedure to reduce the need for post-TAVI pacemaker implantation," the authors wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Manuel Carnero-Alcázar, MD, PhD, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain. It was published online on June 18, 2025, in Open Heart. LIMITATIONS: The dataset used in this study lacked information on procedural characteristics such as depth of implantation and type of valve. The retrospective and observational study design prevented the investigators from determining whether the analysed variables directly increased the pacemaker risk. Pacemaker implantation was captured only during the initial admission to the hospital. DISCLOSURES: This study did not receive any specific funding. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
South China Morning Post
05-06-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How a pacemaker, smaller than a grain of rice, could revolutionise cardiac medicine
A new, tiny pacemaker, smaller than a grain of rice, could play a big role in the future of medicine, according to the engineers who developed it. Researchers at Northwestern University in the US state of Illinois unveiled the device, which they say is the smallest pacemaker in the world, in a study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature. The device is still years away from being used in humans, but it could eventually be useful for infants with congenital heart defects and for adults, the researchers say. 'I think it's really exciting technology that will change how electrical stimulation is done,' says Igor Efimov, a Northwestern experimental cardiologist who co-led the study. Play The device – which is just 1.8mm (1/16th of an inch) wide, 3.5mm long and 1mm thick – can be inserted with a catheter or syringe.
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sport icon Dawn Fraser reveals the distressing amount of weight she's lost - and her chilling moment after horror fall: 'I didn't want to die that way'
Aussie sporting icon Dawn Fraser has revealed she lost 22kg following a fall on her driveway in December last year - and that she could have died following subsequent surgery. Fraser, 87, is a national treasure after winning Olympic gold in the 100m freestyle at three successive Summer Games, between 1956 and 1964. 'The pain was excruciating,' she told News Corp when reflecting on the serious fall at her Noosa home on Queensland 's Sunshine Coast in December last year. 'I'd never felt pain like that before. I've never sort of fallen or broken anything in my life and it was a shock to me.' And the cause of the fall? Fraser was trying to open a case of soft drink when she slipped on a small ledge and fell onto hard concrete. Fraser's hospital X-rays were grim - they revealed a broken hip, four cracked ribs and potential internal bleeding. Given her age, the anaesthetist then warned 'Dawny' she may not survive the operation. 'When the anaesthetist came in and said I could die, that was the frightening part,' Fraser recalled. 'I didn't want to die that way, so that put my will up to come through and come out of it.' Thankfully, everything went according to plan - only for Fraser to then endure a heart scare weeks later. Now fitted with a pacemaker, Fraser's heart is monitored 24 hours a day. Acknowledging she has to slow down has been a battle. She was on anti-depressants, but an old friend - swimming - has helped keep Fraser mentally strong. Fraser also admitted the recent setbacks have resulted in one of the toughest periods of her life. 'This has been the biggest challenge, absolutely,' she said. 'It's not something I thought I'd (ever) have to face. 'But now it's there in front of me. Winning the gold medals was much easier. I feel so lucky I survived.' In terms of attending the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, it remains to be seen if Fraser will be poolside. She will be 95 - but you never write off a champion.
