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What Causes Tingling Sensations In The Left Arm?
Question: I am an RN. My husband has a pacemaker. He is 73 years old. He just told me he feels some tingling in his left arm and top shoulder area. ( I just love this new info!!) He has followed up on all his Cardiologist and pacemaker appointments and all the results indicate
normal functioning ---no change in meds, etc. He will not call his Cardiologist because he states this only happens when he is doing work that requires utilizing his left arm. (such as working in the backyard). I don't want to alarm him.
Could this be related to the pacemaker placement? I am unable to find info on the internet and I no longer have access to a reliable a resource such as Medscape. Thank you.
Medscape
normal functioning ---no change in meds, etc. He will not call his Cardiologist because he states this only happens when he is doing work that requires utilizing his left arm. (such as working in the backyard). I don't want to alarm him.
Could this be related to the pacemaker placement? I am unable to find info on the internet and I no longer have access to a reliable a resource such as Medscape. Thank you.
Medscape
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome on HCM!
I passed carefully through your husband medical concern and would like to explain that the tingling left arm and shoulder area seems more likely to be related to a pinched nerve (nerve entrapment) in the brachial plexus.
First of all, in order to explore every possibility it is necessary to locally inspect for any sighs and symptoms of inflammation in the surrounding tissue of implanted pacemaker unit.
Some markers of inflammation (complete blood count, PCR, ESR, etc.) would be helpful in this regard.
But, the most common cause would be a degenerative process through the nerve pathways surroundings and these needs to be medically explore through further electro-physiological study, such as:
a nerve conduction study.
In addition other test could give valuable hints to the exact etiology, like:
- blood electrolytes level,
- fasting blood glucose,
- thyroid hormones level,
- ultrasound exam of the pacemaker unit surrounding tissues,
- resting ECG,
- chest X ray study (including left arm joint)
You need to discuss with his attending doctor on the above mentioned issues.
Hope to have been helpful to you!
In case of any further questions, feel free to ask me again.
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome on HCM!
I passed carefully through your husband medical concern and would like to explain that the tingling left arm and shoulder area seems more likely to be related to a pinched nerve (nerve entrapment) in the brachial plexus.
First of all, in order to explore every possibility it is necessary to locally inspect for any sighs and symptoms of inflammation in the surrounding tissue of implanted pacemaker unit.
Some markers of inflammation (complete blood count, PCR, ESR, etc.) would be helpful in this regard.
But, the most common cause would be a degenerative process through the nerve pathways surroundings and these needs to be medically explore through further electro-physiological study, such as:
a nerve conduction study.
In addition other test could give valuable hints to the exact etiology, like:
- blood electrolytes level,
- fasting blood glucose,
- thyroid hormones level,
- ultrasound exam of the pacemaker unit surrounding tissues,
- resting ECG,
- chest X ray study (including left arm joint)
You need to discuss with his attending doctor on the above mentioned issues.
Hope to have been helpful to you!
In case of any further questions, feel free to ask me again.
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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