New at this

I am a 60 year old male, who thought he was in good shape. I do cardio 5 days a week and lift easy for 3 days a week. 2 weeks ago I went in with chest pain and ended up with blocked artery and therefore stint. Cardiologist sent me home 2 days later and I ended back in hospital next morning with shortnes of breath. 2 days later I woke at 4am nobeing able to breahe. 30 minutes later I flatlined for 2 minutes. They took me to cath lab and flatlined again. They hooked up pacemaker/defib and implanted it yesterday. They say I am 100% dependant.
I am having some difficultly just accepting all this. I was always active in sports, playing golf 2-4 times a week. Plus working out. Are there any programs that will help me get back into the exercise without putting myself back in hospital? Any suggestions on handling all this? I have 3 grown sons, wonderful wife of 39 years and 8 grandchildren I want to be around for.
Thanks in advance

3 Comments

surprises

by Tracey_E - 2009-05-16 09:05:39

It is a big blow to find out you aren't as healthy as you thought you were! Especially when you've worked so hard to stay in shape and take care of yourself. Your excellent condition may have saved your life, you lived long enough to be diagnosed and fix it.

The first thing to do is cut yourself some slack and realize the emotional healing is as important as the physical. Take it easy until you've had time to heal. Learn what you can about your condition and pm, for many of us understanding is a big part of accepting. Vent here and ask us any questions you think of. You'll be back to your old self soon! The fact that you are active and generally healthy means you will bounce back that much faster.

It sounds like you have two things going on. The blocked artery is a plumbing problem, it's fixed now with the stint. The pausing is an electrical problem, that's what your icd will fix. Why do they say you're 100% dependent? Was your rate that low? Seems to me if it was so low that you'd need the pm all the time, they would have noticed it when they did the stint. But I'm no doctor :o)

Pm's mostly work as a guardian angel, they watch our hearts all the time. If it slows down too much, the pm generates an impulse that causes the heart to beat. If it stops/pauses, the icd will shock it back to beating. So, they work all the time but most of the time it's more watching than generating beats. And it just generates the pulse, the heart still does the beating itself. Sometimes newbies get the impression that their heart isn't doing the beating anymore, that's not the case.

I am dependent. My underlying rate is in the 20's so nearly every beat my heart makes is started by the pm. When they check your pm, the report will tell them exactly how often it's kicking in, what percentage of the time you're using it. You can ask for a copy of this report and some of the guys here can tell you what all the gibberish on it means.

It's just my opinion, but it really doesn't matter how much you use it, if you're dependent or not. If it saves your life once, you need it. I've never worried much about the numbers. I need it, who cares what the numbers are.

Ask your doctor when you can get back to exercise. Don't do anything to get your hr up until he clears it. If you're nervous about starting back on your own, ask about doing a few weeks of cardiac physical therapy so a professional monitors as you get started again. But really, common sense is all you need! You'll need to avoid raising your left arm above shoulder level and lifting weight for 6 weeks to give the leads time to settle into place. If your doctor says it's ok, you can start mild cardio well before the 6 weeks is up. I was taking walks from the day I was released from the hospital. Just remember the restrictions to protect the leads and gradually get back to your old routine. Leave the golf clubs alone for the full 6 weeks and restrict the weights to legs for now. You'll be back to your old self before you know it!

Wrong Expectations

by ElectricFrank - 2009-05-16 11:05:01

We've been misled to believe that a good diet, plenty of exercise, and taking meds to keep all our number "right" is insurance against disease. There are young athletes that drop dead during sports, even with a clean bill of health from the doctor. Genetics are a big factor.

I'm coming up on 79 and realize I have somewhere between 30 seconds and 20 years left to live. So I get on with life and enjoy myself.

frank

Take a break...

by chip - 2009-05-17 02:05:05

First and foremost give yourself some time!

My gosh your incision hasn’t even healed yet. Your body has been through a bit of a stressful period with the stent and device procedures.

You'll be back to enjoying the same things you did before your device implant very soon.

Listen to your doctor and don’t push it. The last thing you want to do is pull a lead loose; because then the wait starts all over again.

I think we were all a little apprehensive after getting our pacemakers or ICD’s. The uneasiness does fade and soon you won’t give it a second thought – trust in that.

Just take a little vacation from the heavy activities. Enjoy some walks with your beautiful wife and spend some quality time with those grandchildren. Enjoy Life!


If you find that you have questions remember this site is a wealth of real life information - don't be shy... Ask.

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