Julie Bowen Reveals She’s Had a Pacemaker Since Age 29 Due to a Rare Heart Condition
The actress recalls worrying, 'Oh my god...I'm going to die'
When you think of who might need to wear a pacemaker, your mind may go to an elderly person with heart failure or someone who’s survived a heart attack. But living with a heart condition can mean starting that process much earlier, as was the case for Modern Family actress Julie Bowen who needed a pacemaker at just 29 years old. The sitcom star recently appeared on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, where she talked about her family and living with a heart condition.
Julie Bowen has a heart condition called sick sinus syndrome
In the podcast, Bowen said that she has a pacemaker due to an underlying heart condition. “I had sick sinus syndrome, hypervagotonia,” said Bowen. “It means your heart rate just goes really low.”
What is this heart condition impacting heart rhythm? We spoke to an expert to learn more.
Woman's World Answers
“Sick sinus syndrome is a dysfunction in the sinoatrial (SA) node in the heart,” says Austin Shuxiao, MD, founder of a mobile IV company in NYC. “Normally, the SA node initiates the heartbeat at a regular pace, about 60 to 100 beats per minute. It does this by generating an electrical signal that propagates through the rest of the heart muscles, causing it to contract during each heartbeat.”
“Sick sinus syndrome is when the SA node does not fire properly, leading to arrhythmia,” he continues. “Usually this will lead to the heart beating too slowly (bradycardia).” (Learn more about your average resting heart rate by age here.)
Bowen’s sister helped clue her into her heart condition
Bowen shared that she grew up an athlete and thought her heart rate and fitness were connected. “I was a runner all throughout high school,” said Bowen. “And then, you know, I was really a competitive runner and I always had a really low heart rate. And my sister was in med school.”
Bowen explained that when she was around college age, her sister, Annie Luetkemeyer, asked to listen to her heart. “She was at that time in her life when she, I guess, she always carried around a stethoscope,” said Bowen of her sister, who had just graduated medical school. “And we were on vacation, and she was like, ‘I wanna listen to this.’”
When she did, Bowen recalled Luetkemyer saying, “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 immediately.”
Bowen said she told her sister she was “fine,” but Luetkemeyer was insistent that something was wrong.
Julie Bowen got a pacemaker at age 29
Shortly after their trip, Bowen was filming another project and had to get treatment. “I shot the pilot of Ed and immediately had to go get a pacemaker afterwards,” Bowen said.
When Rosenbaum asked how she felt about getting a pacemaker at that age, she described it as strange. “Oh, I thought, I was like, ‘oh my God, my life is over. This is so weird. I’m going to die,’” Bowen said. “I don’t know what I thought it was. I was 29.”
Bowen’s doctors told her she “wouldn’t probably die of it,” but she had started experiencing symptoms like passing out.
She had started feeling lightheaded
“Whenever I was relaxed, really relaxed, I’d be, like, watching TV or [a] movie or something, it was like I’d been holding my breath for a while, that feeling of lightheadedness,” Bowen said.
Bowen shared that her doctors encouraged her to get the pacemaker out of fear she could harm herself or others if she suddenly lost consciousness. “They said, ‘You’re going to be driving a car and you’re going to pass out and you’re going to kill somebody,'” said Bowen. “And I was like ‘Oh, well then give me the goddamn pacemaker.””
During the interview, Bowen said her pacemaker is set to keep her heart at a certain beats-per-minute rate. “It’s set so that it can’t go below 45,” Bowen revealed.
Now at age 55, Bowen still lives with the pacemaker and says the battery lasts for years before it needs replacing. “I’ve had it replaced a couple of times,” Bowen said. “I don’t remember, three times, four.”
Symptoms of sick sinus syndrome
Dr. Shuxiao says the symptoms and early warning signs of the heart condition Bowen has may depend on your heart rate.
Symptoms of a slow heart rate (bradycardia):
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- Fainting or near-fainting
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
Symptoms of heart rate pausing intermittently:
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- Fainting or near-fainting
- Shortness of breath
- Heart palpitations
- Chest pain
Symptoms of heart rate alternating from fast to slow:
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- Fainting or near fainting
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Heart palpitations
- Chest pain
Dr. Shuxiao says not everyone will experience symptoms of sick sinus syndrome. “Sometimes, however, people can have sick sinus syndrome with heart rates that are very abnormal, as low as 20 to 30 BPM, and still feel perfectly fine,” says Dr. Shuxia. “Hypervagotonia is when the vagus nerve is overactive and slowing down the heart rate to an inappropriate degree.”
While sick sinus syndrome can affect people of all ages, as Bowen can attest, it’s most common in adults over 70 and those with high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol. If you suspect you may have sick sinus syndrome, visit your doctor, who can assess your heart rhythm and electrical activity.
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