Pacemaker Club: Ever had this happen?

Ever had this happen?

by Czechmate
2017-06-04 14:08:04
Exercise & Sports
1517 views
3 comments

Hello again, having an issue with my pacer and curious if it's a common thing. My pm is currently set on using only minute ventilation to sense activity and raise my rate accordingly. This has worked reasonably well during my running. My problem is this, when I stop long enough during a run for either the bathroom, traffic, or general rest and my rate falls enough (say below 100) it's all but impossible to get it to increase to where it was before stopping. It's like the pacer stopped working and I become completely wiped out. Im puzzled why this happens. If I keep my rate elevated during the stop (jog in place) or make the stop brief then everything feels fine and I can go as normal. I wonder if there is some recovery mode that keeps the activity sensor from kicking in after a long enough break.

Thanks for your help!

Bob

3 Comments

Rate adaption with Boston Scientific Essentio

by Selwyn - 2017-06-05 13:28:14

I believe your PM has more than one way of rate adaption:

'Rate Adaptive Pacing
Accelerometer, RightRateTM (Minute Ventilation) or blended sensors with sensor trending function'

I would suggest the blended sensors with sensor trending function would suit you better.

That is what I would look into. You can always phone up the company's help line.

Selwyn

thanks.

by Czechmate - 2017-06-05 15:29:56

you're right, I have both options. appreciate the feedback.

Follow-up

by Czechmate - 2017-06-06 12:36:23

I called Boston Sci and spoke with a tech/engineer. Wow, best 10 minutes I ever spent regarding my pacemaker. He told me everything I wanted to know and gave me options on possible solutions to consider. One, have the accelerometer turned on during my next visit. Two, stick to routes with fewer forced stops (less traffic) but this one is obvious and I already started doing it. Three, engage in deep breathing when you need your heart rate increased. He said often times endurance athletes will go into quick and shallow panting while working out. I know I do this sometimes. He suggested that I take some deep breaths instead as this will increase the electrical impedence and engage the minute ventilation activity sensor. I tried it out last night during a run and it worked like a charm after every break! This is a great discovery and I didn't know deep breathing is all I needed to do. If I want something more sensitive then I just need to turn on the accelerometer the next time I vist the office. I'll stick with the just the MV for now. Anyway, it was a fascinating discussion.