I used to do gym work. I've just had a pm fitted: surgeon says "no upper body exercise for 2 months, and then take care". My problem: I have a lower body neuropathy, so can just about walk but can get no decent work-rate from my legs so must focus on upper body. I feel stuffed!
What gym exercises - arm ergo, bench work, free weight work, etc.- can be done without risking movement of the leads (which is apparently the risk)?
Any advice/experience out there?
Seasons greetings to all!

 

My son PJ who is 15 years old and is currently playing basketball for his JV team just got news today that he will be getting a pacemaker on January 17th. He loves playing basketball and loves playing baseball even more. he plays shortstop and secondbase and loves to slide head first and try to make diving plays when on defense. Will he have to change his style of play once the pacemaker is installed? I cant imagine him not playing since he's been playng since he was 8. If any one has input or suggestions i would love to hear from you.
Thank You

James & PJ Garza
AKA
turnin2

 

I am a 78 year old woman who has had a history of a-fib for 30+ years. when medications no longer controlled my rate I had a partial ablation and a pacemaker installed. Now I find that, though I feel much better mentally, I find that my stamina has decreased significantly. Before the pacemaker I could ride a bicycle 10 miles, now muscle fatigue stops me after 2. I used to run the elliptical stepper at 10+ calories per minute for 30 minutes and now I am down to 7 or 8 for 20 minutes. Is this a trade-off for feeling better in general, or will my stamina eventually return? My pacemaker is set at 70-110, supposedly, but I note that my rate does not exceed 90 even after extreme exertion. Am I just not facing the normal aging process?

 

In reference to prior discussion about obtaining direct access to out output data.

This is a day-by-day summary for the month of July. This was mailed directly to me on Oct. 2 by a very kind individual at St. Judes.

This is useful info for people who track their exercise.

Apologies: Correct cardio-exercise is at 60%-80% of maximum heart rate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfbaywalk/6480511671/in/photostream/lightbox/

 

This is my second pacemaker within the last 10 years. I want to become more active in exercising. I am nervous about doing this. Can someone help me?

 

Hi, Tattoo Man here. Its 13 months since I got my PM. Does anybody know if PMs affect sporting performance ?. I have a straightforward setting that is set to a min of 60bpm. I have no upper limit and my Technicians are fine with me to max at 185, I have always run' high'...in my Bike racing days I could hold 175 for an hour or more.
It just feels that I am slower than before the PM...is it that I'm not training hard enough, or is it a fact that you can expect a slow down effect ??

Take care...TM

 

I have had a pacemaker since 2002. Every time I walk quickly I experience tight muscle pain where my pacemaker is implanted. It does not hurt when I lift weights, kayak or bike. My Dr. says there is no problem with the actual pace maker.

Has anyone else experienced this type of discomfort? If so, what were they able to do about it? Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much

 

Hi all,

I have now had my pace maker for the last 3 years and whilst everything is going reasonably well I still have regular dizzy spells and about every six weeks I faint. Last week after a hard 60 kilometre bike ride I had pains in the chest and felt dizzy. I spoke to my partner and we agreed I would visit the local hospital. After being admitted I had two fainting spells and the blood results came back with a significant level of Troponins. Over the next few days I had a number of tests and despite some minor concerns everything looks OK. I again saw a neurosurgeon and he discounted epilepsy and the best they can now put it down to is Vasovagal Syncope. After 4 days I was released from hospital but my blood tests are still s...

 

Hi all writing back again , its now 5 months since my implant, darn good here, helping hubby build a retaining wall at the moment for our new bedroom, it arives in 2 weeks, so much energy, fantastic. The best thing we ever did was get my pacemaker. Go for it guys dont worry, by the way back at work full time, mowing lawn as well, feel fantastic, . Lifes real good. Hope this helps people to relax, don't worry, by the way this is my first implant, it saved my life, 'I feel fantastic, will write again soon Cindy

 

After reading through the PACEMAKER CLUB Site, and attending two local support meetings for ICD implant clients, I am interested to know if we are more apt to be physically active than the average cross section of the population.

I went to Cardiac Rehab.. eight years ago (after i recovered enough to move). I noticed the men who stayed, were active in sports. I wondered if people who had formerly been involved in sports, were more likely to stick to training and know the feeling of success.

Now that I have my CRT implanted,, I am thinking about backing up and going back to rehab., I am having more problems with my heart, and I am not sure the gym I am going to is where I should be at this stage.

P.S. ...

 

I'm searching for a jogging/race-walking partner for marathon or half marathon.

 

I've been having some trouble maintaining consciousness while engaging in my preferred form of exercise (jogging) and have been instructed to exercise on a recumbent bike for a while. Unfortunately, getting to the gym entails either walking (which can cause fainting spells) or driving (which isn't very safe right now). So, I've been looking into recumbent bikes and most of them are magnetic. Does anyone have any experience with this type of exercise bike? Have you noticed any interference with your pacemaker? (I have a medtronic adapta.)

Thanks in advance for any info you might be able to provide.

Jenny

 

I had my biventricular PM fitted 2 months ago today. I'm a runner having completed a several marathons and ultras. I've slowly built up my exercise program to 5k, running 2 mins and walking 2 mins. Today I felt ready to tackle a 5k run. My pace was easy and I was coping quite well and felt good but then on a hill at about 4k I experienced palpatations. My pulse was about 130 but I noticed that my heart seemd to skip a beat every now and then. Prior to my PM my cardiologist said I had "Achenbach Syndrome" (not sure of the spelling). I'm due for my check up and PM programming next Monday. Can anyone comment on what I might have experienced today? My PM settings are 50 to 180 bpm.

 

I received my pacemaker on July 28, 2011. I am an avid competetive swimmer, but when my resting pulse rate got down to 37 bpm, a cardiologist and an ekg test indicated a 3rd degree heart block. I have been back swimming for about 4 weeks now (I had to take some additional time off for another minor surgical procedure which prevented me from getting back in the water), but walked about 1 hour 5-6 days per week while waiting to return to the pool.

Since starting swimming again I’ve noticed some swelling in my upper right arm area when I work out, but it subsides pretty quickly after stopping. I am swimming about 2-3 seconds slower per 100 yards when compared to before my surgery. My question is is the swelling in my arm nor...

 

Hi fellow pacers! As a lot of you are aware I've had a parathyroid tumour removed this year and havn't been to the gym for some months. That's all sorted now and I'm back fighting fit......but I went back to the gym for the first time this week.

I had a great workout, was really pleased that I'd not lost too much of my fitness levels......and then suddenly........i got my pacemaker beating and my chest was moving up and down, like a pulse just above my pm. There was no pain, I didnt feel dizzy, in fact I thought it was quite funny and everyone was watching it and felt the pulse. Went off after a few mins and I went for a swim.

Any ideas?????

 

Thanks for all the info on this site, most of my questions were answered searching through old posts but I’m still confused about something. I got a pacemaker last week because of arrhythmia problems since valve surgery in June. The limits are set at 60 and 130. My pulse is usually in the 60s or 70s during normal activity around the house. When I go for a walk my pulse goes up to 130 within 60 seconds and stays there for my whole walk regardless of how slow and effortless my pace is. I can stop walking and my pulse is back in the 70s within 2 minutes, when I start walking again it goes right back to 130. I’m wearing a chest monitor and verifying my pulse manually. My question is if my pulse is going to 130 on its own or if the pacemaker ra...

 

Hello I have a dual lead pacemaker sigma 300. I was wondering what kind of upper body lifts I can do without damaging my leads. My doctor said not to do bench press, pushups, or military press so i guess im wondering what you guys do?

Thanks,
Ray

 

Hi all! I am pretty new to this stuff but I have a few questions about some stuff that maybe people have experienced. I recently had a device implanted in the beginning of 10-2011. I have recently noticed that every now and then I get a sharp pain that goes left of the sternum about the 4th or 5th rib. The pain is usually worse with inspiration and even movement and sometimes comes on after straining lifting or moving objects I was reading some posts on this earlier and people were saying they had a similar pain. Any ideas on what to do to prevent this or make it better?

Thanks everyone!

 

I want to go diving down to 100 feet? Is there any problem? I have a medtronic Adapta Dr, model ADDR01. It is rarely used, as I have a very slow normal heart beat. It is set at 40 BPM, and works mostly when I sleep. With any activity I am over 40 and my body works fine at this slow heart rate...tx

 

Hello All,

Received my PM Nov 1 2011. Overall I'm feeling pretty good except for not the fact that I cannot sleep on my back. Any suggestions? Also, when will I be able to return to some light running?