pacemaker duration

I have never been able to get a clear answer to the question....
Does the amount of activity a person engages in have any effect
on the life of a pacemaker. or if you are very active, does that
decrease the life of the pacemaker?

9 Comments

How Long

by SMITTY - 2011-01-22 07:01:49

Hello Stan,

Your's is an interesting question and I'll give you a clear answer which is YES and NO. Now I'll stop being a smart a-- and try to explain why I say that.

True a pacemaker battery life is dependant on how often it paces the heart. For example we see some members talking about their battery lasting 10 or 12 years and then some say their's lasted only 4 to 6 years. If you looked at the percent pacing for the pacemaker with the battery that lasted only 4 to 6 years you would find that it has paced a much higher percentage of time than the one that lasted 10 to 12 years.

Now let's make some guesses. Assuming that your PM is the on demand unit which means it normally paces your heart when your heart rate is below the low set point on your PM. In which case I will guess that your PM paces say between 3% and 7% of the time which means the battery would probably last 5 to 7 years. However if your PM has the rate response turned on, when you start physical activity it will pace more that the 3% to 7% the time. How much more is anybody's guess.

So the answer is yes. The more physical activity you have that causes the rate response to kick in and increase the amount of time the PM paces your heart the shorter the battery life will be.

Now let's say you decided to adopt a sedentary life style. This life style may keep the rate response from ever kicking in may give you a PM with a longer battery life. However you may not live long enough to take advantage of that longer battery life, for as we all know a healthy life style includes one with exercise.

Finally, I say put that question out of your mind and don't even think of it anymore. Even if physical activity may shorten the battery life, too little physical to extend the battery may shorten your life.

I hope some of this makes sense to you. It is one of those questions that the answer seems so simple but for me it didn't turn out that way so I ended up talking in circles.

Good luck to you,

Smitty

life of a PM

by kiwigirl - 2011-01-22 09:01:22


I have had a PM for 25 years, my first PM got replaced in 2006 after almost 21 years. I haven't changed my life style, but my second PMs batteries are on the way out already.

I asked why this is & the technician said because the newer ones store a lot more information in them,

Katherine

negligible

by Tracey_E - 2011-01-22 10:01:24

It may make a small difference, but if you exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week, you're talking a very very small percentage of time, less than 1%. Stay fit, it will benefit you a lot more than a few minutes extra life in your battery!

How much you pace is only a small part of how long a battery lasts. My first pm was estimated 4-5 years. I pace 100% of the time but still got 7 years out of it. The way the tech explained it to me is I am young and otherwise healthy, and my usage is very predictable because my condition is very stable, so he was able to cut back on the safety margins which increased the battery life. My next one lasted 3 years, one of my leads went back and it was kind of like running the air conditioner with the window open, the house cools but the power bill is high. He had to crank the voltage way up to get the signal through so the battery life plummeted. So, higher voltage will shorten battery life. There's a lot more to it than simply how much you use it.

Battery changes are very easy if you've never had one, definitely nothing to stress over or change your lifestyle to eek a bit more time out of it. Let the experts set it where you need it to be, live your life to the fullest, and when they tell you it's time to replace be proud that you've gotten the most out of that battery! I had two babies, learned to ski and got addicted to hiking on my first battery, haven't been able to top that ;oP

Katherine, I think they could make a lot of things last longer if they wanted to. How many of our grandparents have 30 yr old refrigerators when a new one won't last 10!? If things last too long, the mfr doesn't get to sell enough new ones. (telling the skeptic in me to shut up now) Newer pm's have a lot more bells and whistles than the old ones and that uses up power. Also, they try to make them smaller which means less space for the battery. I'd rather have a big ole hunk that lasts 20 years, but I've got this nice compact little one that will get me about 5. Oh well! I feel great, that's what counts.

How long is a piece of string???

by donr - 2011-01-23 08:01:43

This is a "Not to worry issue." Every time they interrogate your PM, it tells them of its expected battery life. I have a Medtronic device. When the battery finally croaked unexpectedlyabout three months earlier thanpredicted, it still had enough power left to run in a default mode for weeks. You feel like crap, but you stay alive.

I started out w/ a predicted life of 7-10 yrs. I am now paced nearly 100% for various reasons having nothing to do w/ heart problems. Even at that usage rate, I lasted 7 yrs.

Read all these comments & you will see we are all different.

So - the question you really asked is "How long is a piece of string?". Same answer.

Wish you the best.

Don

Boston Scientific

by biker72 - 2011-01-23 09:01:05

I'm paced almost 100% of the time and exercise. I'll get around 6 years battery life.

My PM tech tells me that at 3 months remaining battery life, you are scheduled for a replacement. There is an overdesign factor built in to the battery so that at 3 months indicated, you actually have 6 months.

Also at 3 months all the diagnostic modes are automatically shut off to preserve battery life.

Effect on life span

by ElectricFrank - 2011-01-23 12:01:53

I figure we are born with a limited supply of heart beats. So exercising uses them up faster.

Maybe that's why I'm doing so well at 80. I call itRecliner Conditioning!

anyone want to join me?

frank

I agree with Tracie E on everything

by janetinak - 2011-01-23 12:01:55

my 1st PM lasted about 3 yrs but it had problems & needed a lot of adjustments. My current one from 5/03 is winding down but has given me little trouble & I am 100% paced. So many factors are involved. I have thought about doing less so may last longer but I want to live life to the fullest I can (sounds trite but true).

Just enjoy good health,

Janet

battery life

by patio - 2011-01-28 09:01:23

my husband had to get a replacement after 9 years and hes a runner

I M a sportsman

by Abbas - 2012-09-28 03:09:13

I m 50 yrs now.I was doing regular excerise during my playing days.I have implanted PM in 2003 but had to change at 2011.Now I go for brisk walking for 30 minutes also sometimes I play competitive Table Tennis tournament.Is it good for me or not.

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