Running Performance

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

10 Comments

Thanks Ian /TM

by Tattoo Man - 2011-12-05 01:12:06

I'm one of those people who are not very techie, all I know is that my PM bounces me back up if I dip under 60bpm..I was on 9% when last tested in July...I had been 13%in March and was at 24% after PM was fitted..technicians pretty happy with this. My Passport says IPG Basic Rate 60-165, they are quite happy for me to go well over that though..any ideas ??

Thanks Ian ..TM

Interesting...good question

by IAN MC - 2011-12-05 12:12:53

Hi T-Man . I, too, feel that I'm not performing quite as well when I run as I did pre PM. You don't say why you have a PM or whether your Rate Response is turned on or not. We all feel great about not feeling faint or passing out any more; but I'd be interested to know if there are people out there who are running, cycling, swimming or whatever at exactly the same levels as they were before having pacemakers.

Best wishes


Ian

More PM info

by Tattoo Man - 2011-12-06 01:12:45

Hi Guys, I've just been talking to my Pacemaker Technician. She checked my notes and pointed out that my Pm is assisting 5% Top Chamber and only1% Bottom Chamber ( a year ago I had 24% at one time).She said that it is possible in some cases to alter Rate Response but that in my case as my heart is responding to exercise it would make no difference. Regarding lead wires..the 'first' wire goes into the Right Atrium and the 'second' goes through the Right Ventricle Tricuspid Valve. She did not see how this would impair valve efficiency. These people are more than happy to discuss and explain anything re PM , she made a point of wanting patients to feel calm about thier PMs.
Last but not least she was VERY keen on the idea of a Sharing Forum like this one.
So...maybe "get finger out and do some quality workouts" si the answer !!

Take care and thank you all.........TM

PS Ian..she could not offer psychiatric advise...if you knew what stuff my club does you would realise that all hope was lost long ago. Typical of the stuff we do is Catterick Camp 10mile (full pack and boots) and the incredible Adidas TR24 Thunder Run (look it up) !!

A thought

by ElectricFrank - 2011-12-06 02:12:31

Having a pacemaker itself shouldn't cause a slow down in performance. However, keep in mind that something happened in your heart which caused you to need the pacer. That problem in itself may be the cause of the slow down. Also, the timing of your hearts chambers is now to some degree being handled by the pacemaker. It's like that this isn't as optimum as the natural pacemaker we have in our 20's. That natural system is an amazing device in the way it uses a number of inputs from nerves, blood chemistry, respiration, etc. to determine operation of that big pump.

Just keep in mind that you aren't as young as you used to be..in fact you never were. LOL

frank

Interesting Stuff

by Tattoo Man - 2011-12-06 05:12:57

Many thanks to Parmeterr, E Frank and Ian. So..I thought that the old PM sat there like a Night watchman, and basically did nothing until called to help out...?
So what does it actually do when you are in a 'stable-one' (old NASA term) condition? and why, if you are doing ok, without any intervention, does it have to have any impact on the working of your heart at all ??
There may be some that might have read these postings and are thinking "you are the fortunate ones, moaning about running probs"...sure..I think its just that some of us want explanations to simple questions .
I'll give Glenfield a ring today and ask them what they think.
Maybe we are just getting old !!...at 61 there are none of my pals getting into thier kit on damp evenings, let alone paying good money to end up knackered and limping after a hilly 10k..might we review our concepts of success ?

Have a good day, Club night this evening..at 7pm yours truly will be padding around the streets of Newark with a bunch of fab people, rain or shine.

Its what we do !!

TM

Just a thought

by IAN MC - 2011-12-06 06:12:50

When you ring the hospital ask to speak to a psychiatrist..It will be b....y freezing running around Newark at 7.00pm, if it's anything like my part of the UK...but enjoy it if that's what you do !

You ask why should a pacemaker affect you when it is dormant. If you have a dual lead PM (which I do ) then one lead goes into the upper chamber of the heart , the atrium; the other lead , I believe,passes through a heart valve into the lower chamber, the ventricle. There were some posts on this site recently asking what is the effect of a wire passing through a heart valve ? does it mean that the valve doesn't open and close as well as it should ? and how will this affect you ?
I don't think there were any definitive answers I'm sure Frank will know alot more about this than I do.

So a fall off in performance post PM may be due to a combination of factors... the adverse effect that your underlying condition has had on your body, maybe the heart valve issue...and of course getting older (dammit ! )

Let us know what the hospital said when you rang them

Cheers

Ian

I agree

by parmeterr - 2011-12-06 12:12:55

I have been running for 14 1/2 years with a pacemaker. After my first one was implanted (1997), the running did not seem the same. Appeared to be a bit off and a bit slower but then a pacemaker is not the same as a normal heart. I started out as about a 50% pacer (complete heart block). About a year after the implant I ran a half marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes (age 45). In 2003 (age 50) did a 26 minute 5K. Still decent and seemed like old times. Still running at age 58. Doing 900 to 1000 miles a year. A 100% pacer now, rate responsive, dilated cardiomyapathy, doing 50 mg of Coreg a day and just finished a 10 mile race (Medtronic 10 miler in October) in 1 hour 58 minutes. Do struggle at times but compared to other 58 year old people, not too bad. Most can not keep up with me. I am also getting ready to donate my 120th pint of blood.

Just keep going. Don't let the pacemaker stop you.

Richard

Stable One Condtion

by ElectricFrank - 2011-12-07 12:12:55

Just in general, some of the pacemaker settings set threshold conditions that determine when it kicks in and to what extent. This can lead to a situation where a very small change in heart function can cause a major change in the % pacing.

I have a good example in mine. My lower limit is set at 55bpm. When I'm resting (like in my easy chair) my natural HR drops to around 56-58, so the pacemaker doesn't affect my sinus rate. However, during sleep my my HR tries to drop a bit more. It only takes a couple of bpm down to 54 to kick in the pacer.The result is the report shows about 5% atrial pacing. Now if they set my lower limit up to 60bpm the %atrial pacing could show a sizeable increase. None of these changes really represent anything significant.

frank

Thank you all

by Tattoo Man - 2011-12-09 06:12:02

Many thanks to all who have posted on this subject. It seems to me that Medics, and I have many as my own Clients, including two ( ! ) Professors of Cardiology, always offer the "Take it easy" line when it comes to advice. In truth I would do the same in thier shoes. Ideally we could all do with a Sports Coach specialising in people with PMs !!!

Take care..Tattoo Man

Mountain Bike Racer

by tmenssen - 2011-12-24 04:12:17

Hi

I just got my PM in 4 weeks ago. I am very active. I have been racing mountain bikes for over 10 years. So this was kind of surprise to me when I started experiencing heart block end of September. I have a two lead PM put in. the PM is only pacing the lower chamber.

The day after the surgery I started walking on a treadmill. 2 weeks after the surgery I was running and riding again. I don't feel like my performance has suffered at all. Just a little out of shape. My goal is to race in the Cable Classic race in May.

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker interferes with your electronic scale.

Member Quotes

I had a pacemaker when I was 11. I never once thought I wasn't a 'normal kid' nor was I ever treated differently because of it. I could do everything all my friends were doing; I just happened to have a battery attached to my heart to help it work.