Difficulty exercising 3 years post-implant

Hi all!  Had a treadmill stress test and PM check-up today, complete with two Medtronic reps and my cardiology nurse, because I'm getting short of breath, naseous and even slightly faint from very little exertion.  For instance, one day I walked four blocks on even ground, at a very leisurely stroll, only to find myself totally short of breath, bending over, feeling nauseated.  Today I couldn't go beyond 135 heart rate on the treadmill, started feeling the usual faintness, nausea, SOB.  Despite that, PM check found nothing out of the ordinary, and echo this past year showed heart totally normal (other than my AV block, of course!)  So nurse says I need to exercise more, that I'm simply out of shape.  That could be true, but as a former runner I remember getting tired from exertion but never faint and/or nauseous.  Anyone have any thoughts on this?

3 Comments

upper rates

by Tracey_E - 2016-12-23 09:01:40

Do you know what your upper limit is or how high you used to get when you ran? If you have av block, then your own sinus node is setting the pace, all the pacer does is make sure the ventricles keep up. If your atrial rate was getting higher than the pacer's upper limit, that's one thing that can cause your symptoms, but they would have seen that on the treadmill. Maybe have a chat with the doctor about turning on rate response, which can give you a boost and get your rate up higher. Or start with walking daily and keep a log of how far you go, how you feel. If you are simply out of shape as the nurse suggests, then you should quickly improve. If not, then that may help convince them to look deeper or turn on rate response.

Shortness of breath on exercise.

by Selwyn - 2016-12-23 12:44:05

A normal treadmill test is reassuring but not definitive. The Echo does show the normal structure to your heart.

As TracyE says, the pacemaker exercise settings should have been checked.

Causes of shortness of breath on exercise includes respiratory disorders ( eg. emphysema, lung fibrosis etc...), blood disorders ( eg. anaemias, polycythemia, etc.),  medication ( eg. beta blockers  etc.) and other major things... 

You should have a top-toe medical check up by a physician. 

Once I stopped sotolol I was able to walk up stairs!

Selwyn

Thanks!

by laughingarcher - 2016-12-23 18:15:49

TracyE, the nurse said the same thing, work on the conditioning, see if there's improvment and, if not, go from there.  Selwyn, I'm not on any meds but the anemia suggestion rings a faint bell.  I will ask for a full blood test.  Thanks and happy holidays to you both!

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