Question

Hello everyone,

I have a pacemaker to treat my SVT. I had the ablation and it dropped my heart rate to about 50. I have spoken to my DR and he says I am fine to work out/exercise. I am still really scared and wanted to get some of your feedback on what I should do.

9 Comments

Listen to your doc / body

by COBradyBunch - 2011-05-26 02:05:52

2 years ago I had my pacer implanted (I am finally getting around to not saying installed) and the only issues I had was getting some settings right (stand up for yourself with your pacer techs, they often want to set you to the 'standard' settings which really don't work for a lot of us who do heavy cardio).

The biggest hurdle I had was being hyper aware of anything going on in my body and yes, being a bit paranoid about it as well. But once I got my settings right and got over the anxiety I am working out as hard as I ever did. I mostly am a cyclist (bad knees and injuries from a short, unscheduled flight courtesy of SUV Airways last year and the multiple injuries that created make this the best cardio sport for me) and at age 52 workout 5-6 days per week. Living in Colorado has the added challenge of lacking O2 on some of my rides (funny how 10,000 feet feels when you are climbing a big hill) but once I realized that I felt short of breath doing this even when I didn't have a pacemaker I was okay.

As for the issues with weights and such I have no such limitations but did for the first 6 weeks post op. About the only thing the doc says is don't do anything that would result in direct blows to unit itself (bench presses are an example and so are any sort of heavy contact sport such as MMA, football, rugby, full contact karate although basketball is okay). Hell, it survived me getting hit by and SUV, thrown into the air and landing pretty hard on the pavement without a problem.

A safe way to increase your rate...

by Terry - 2011-05-26 02:05:57

...according to publisned science on pacemaking. The idea is to get a natural physiologic contraction. You and your Dr. can agree on that and how it is done. See the little You Tube movie at:

http://PacemakerPatientAdvocacy.com

Terry

start slowly

by Tracey_E - 2011-05-26 04:05:10

It'll take some time to get your old stamina back and to trust the pm so start with a short walk and see how you feel. Add some distance, maybe grab some weights to take with you and work your way back to where you were.

go for it

by Tracey_E - 2011-05-26 04:05:21

If your dr says you can exercise, then you can assume it's safe for you so go have fun and don't worry about it! Some drs are more conservative than others, but most of them are not as restrictive as 6efrau . My dr said anything is fine, no limitations on movements or weight. I use a rowing machine and elliptical, I do weights, push ups, pull ups, whatever they have out at the gym for the day (I do crossfit, routine changes daily). I'm a 5'6" female and I was doing thrusters with 50 lb barbell today. I've been paced since 1993 and haven't hurt the pm yet! I don't let it slow me down.

not sure

by 6efrau - 2011-05-26 12:05:11

Well, since I am still fairly new, I have no idea what SVT or ablation means. Not sure what your previous exercise routine entailed, but my doctor said I can do any cardio I want, but my weight lifting is very limited.

He said I shouldn't life more than 10 pound weights and no chest presses or push-ups or pull-ups ever again. The limitations are not due to the pacemaker or the heart, it has to do with the leads. You could wind up sawing your leads in half and that would not be pleasant.

So, if you are healthy like me, then go exercise, just don't use a rowing machine or elyptical as again this is the same type of motions that you use in push-ups and chest presses.


My Goof

by ElectricFrank - 2011-05-27 02:05:19

I guess I'm read for bed! I missed that you already have a pacemaker. So the question is do you mean that your resting HR is 50, or does your HR remain that low when you work out. If the pacer is properly adjusted your HR should rise with exercise.

frank

50 HR

by ElectricFrank - 2011-05-27 02:05:28

A constant heart rate of 50, while workable for most daily activities, doesn't provide sufficient blood flow for high levels of activity. Our heart puts out pretty much the same quantity of blood for each beat and the only way to increase the flow is more beats.

I would consider a pacemaker which does a better job of providing normal HR.

By the way, one of the comments above would suggest that pacing is not safe unless done in a particular way. Don't let this detract from have a simple pacer implant. If you don a search on the site yo will find the exact same boiler plate statement repeated over and over. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusion.

good luck,

frank

cardiac rehab

by Tracey_E - 2011-05-28 08:05:38

For those of you afraid of working out, ask your dr if your insurance will cover cardiac rehab. That way you will be supervised and monitored as you get started and learn to trust the pm to do its job. If that won't work, ask about getting on the treadmill at the office, most cardiologist have them set up to do stress tests in house now.

But you can trust your pm! They are computers, much more trustworthy than our wonky hearts. The pm will keep your hr is a safe range, the worst that can happen is you overdo and get a little dizzy. I wear a medic alert and the trainers at the gym all know about my pm so if something were to happen, they'd be all over it. But nothing has happened!

me too

by justme - 2011-05-28 12:05:21

the thought of working out again scares the living daylights out of me. most of my heart issues have happened at the gym and i almost had a panic attack when my Dr told me to go test out my ablation results at the gym...I cancelled my gym membership the same day. (I wouldn't suggest following my example, but i understand)

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But I think it will make me feel a lot better. My stamina to walk is already better, even right after surgery. They had me walk all around the floor before they would release me. I did so without being exhausted and winded the way I had been.