My mother is 83, with a pacemaker/defib installed for a year due to deadened tissue in her heart from a severe bout of influenza about 15 yrs ago. At times while sitting she experiences uncomfortable pounding heart which will not go away unless she lays down, or in a few cases, stands. Oddly, she recently misunderstood something I said and tried her nitro pill for angina and it seems (several times now) to eliminate the pounding sensation for the rest of the day. When we mention this to the Cardiologist or the techs that check the pacemaker, they seem to doubt her word on it, and if we press for a discussion, they merely schedule tests again, after which they say, "You're fine." But it's very disconcerting to her. Is this common enough in pm patients that we can have an intelligent discussion about it? What can we learn from doctors (as opposed to discussion boards by patients which have discussions about adjusting parameters on the device, but where there is no answer from a cardiologist to confirm/deny this or offer alternative explanations/solutions).