protecting pacemaker while exercising

I'm a recent pacmaker recipient (March 2020), now getting back to excercise.  I like cycling, but I tend to be a little clumsy and am worried about taking a fall or hitting my chest hard on the handlebars. Should I be ?  Is there a product people use to protect the area ?


4 Comments

Protection

by AgentX86 - 2020-05-19 12:39:11

Protecting the pacemaker isn't important.  It's made out of titanium and won't be damaged by anything that wouldn't turn you into a pool of jelly long before.  The leads are somewhat more fragine but still not a big worry.  That said, if you take a header and land on it, or get hit on the PM with a fast ball, you're certainly going to feel it and will wish you hadn't for a week or two.  There is protection available (advertised elsehere on this site) but unless you play hockey, it's probably overkill.

Protection Cycling

by Selwyn - 2020-05-19 13:18:17

I strongly advise a safety helmet. My sister-in-law died from a head injury  by going over the top of the handlebars cycling when she braked suddenly. 

Perhaps for you an exercise bike would be best? The idea of exercise is to keep fit, not to injure yourself!

Whilst the swimming pools are all closed in the UK due to SARS-CoV-2 the country, and myself, have taken to cycling. We are advised to avoid public transport, if at all possible, and take to our bikes. I always wear a safety helmet. My sister-in-law did not.

 

not necessary

by Tracey_E - 2020-05-19 14:42:22

If you hit it, it's going to hurt. The pacer is metal, you can't damage it. Us, not so much, we bruise. I've had more than one hard hit on my pacer over the years, kids and dogs, not exercising. 

There used to be a video on Heartbeat International's website of a boy who was shot in the chest. The pacer stopped the bullet and saved his life, and kept on pacing. 

E bike electrical interference?

by TMAC - 2020-06-13 20:10:33

Any problem in riding an e bike?

You know you're wired when...

You have an excuse for being a couch potato.

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It is just over 10 years since a dual lead device was implanted for complete heart block. It has worked perfectly and I have traveled well near two million miles internationally since then.