ITP and Pacemaker/Defib

Hi
My name is Phyllis. My husband has been diagnosed with ITP. He has been getting weekly treatments for almost two months at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. My question is has anybody heard this occurring after a pacemaker implantation? His counts were ok for years and then suddenly two months after the pacemaker/defibrillator his counts dropped down to 1 (1000) and he landed in the hospital. I have mentioned this to his doctors and the do not seem to accept the connection. It seems a long stretch to me that it was a coincidence. Anybody have any information I would appreciate it. Thank you and best of luck to all who suffer from this.

Hi Phyllis. I have not heard of a direct correlation between pacemaker implantation and ITP, but any sort of stress on the body (such as surgery) can trigger it. Medications and vaccines can also trigger ITP. Doctors don't seem to ever accept any connections at all, but it is hard to pin point what the real cause is most of the time.