Raising arm

I've been reading that you shouldn't raise your arm for 4 to 6 weeks, I saw my cardiologist 8 days after the implant and he said I could raise it over my head which I have been doing and now I'm wondering if he was wrong. Has anyone else done that after a week. 

3 Comments

raising arm

by Tracey_E - 2018-04-23 10:05:46

Ask 10 doctors, get 10 answers. I think the trend is shortening the length of time they give us restrictions. There was a study and patients with no restrictions had no higher incident of leads being dislodged than patients with the traditional 4-6 weeks of restrictions. I think they all agree that after the first 48 hours it's all precaution so it's a matter of how conservative your doctor is. When I got my first one in 1994, I wasn't given any restrictions. When I got a new lead in 2010 I was told 6 weeks. I had a replacement two years ago, and the instructions said 2 weeks, same surgeon who said 6 weeks a few years before. (that was on the standard discharge paperwork, lead restrictions don't apply to simple replacements)

Leads are not put in tight. They are attached in the heart, run through the vein, and there is plenty of slack between where it comes out of the vein and where it attaches to the device. Sometimes there is enough that they coil it behind the device. So it's never made sense to me that moving the arm is going to do anything at all in the heart. 

You can follow your doctor's advice, or if you feel better being more conservative then hold off raising the arm for a few more weeks. 

Arm position after PM implant

by Selwyn - 2018-04-23 12:49:23

Basically, it doesn't make any difference what you do with your arm. You should just be comfortable and not try to strain it, or the wound. Prolong immobilisation of the shoulder can cause frozen shoulders, stiffness and pain. Therefore, prolong immobilisation should be avoided, as should slings etc.

Selwyn 

 

How long?

by Gotrhythm - 2018-04-23 14:41:50

I was given range of motion exercises that had me raising my arm in a controlled way a 3 days post surgery. Having had a frozen shoulder once before, I was very good a doing the exercises.

By 6 days post surgery, the incision was closed and I had no pain. I kept forgetting I wasn't supposed to raise it. I decided not to worry about it anymore.

I'm of the strictly non-medical opinion, that it's best to restrict the movement of any joint for the least amount of time possible.

 

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So, my advice is to go about your daily routine and forget that you have a pacemaker implanted in your body.