What causes shortness of breath after implantation of a pacemaker?
Patient: My Dad had a pacemaker implanted two weeks ago. He was fine for a while but is now experiencing a dry cough and shortness of breath. He saw a doctor today who said he is not concerned and sent my dad home with cough medicine. The cough medicine has helped a little but the shortness of breath is getting worse. Any ideas? Doctor: Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.   Your father has developed cough and breathing difficulty immediately after pacemaker insertion. So we should definitely rule out heart failure and Pulmonary embolism. Both of them are seen if pacemaker is not functioning properly. So get done 2D echo and CT pulmonary angiography. If both these are normal then no need to worry for these complications. Sometimes bronchitis can also cause similar symptoms. So get done PFT (Pulmonary Function Test).  Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.