Best settings for running

I had a Biotroniks Edora 8 PM implanted almost 90 days ago.  I am an avid runner and triathlete.  I am having issues finding the correct settings for me.  Right now the sensitivity is set to high and the max HR is 130 but I hit 130 really quickly.  Does anyone have any experience with this?


4 Comments

Doesn't make sense to me...

by crustyg - 2022-12-18 18:30:08

...'when you say that "I hit 130 really quickly."  What's the problem? 130BPM isn't particularly fast for your age (and I have no idea of the health of your heart muscle), but as an ex-runner myself I would want to get to maxHR fairly quickly.  Even with factory default settings for the accelerometer for my BostonSci Accolade I would reach maxHR within 300m of setting off, and that's probably about right.

We're almost the same age: in your shoes I'd be complaining about maxHR being too low (but see above comment about heart muscle health).

What matters is how you feel and how your running muscles cope.  If they feel like jelly by 500-800m then I suspect your maxHR is too low.  If you don't like the sensation of your heart reaching 130BPM very quickly then you need to describe the problem not the numbers.

Same model

by Mad Hatter - 2022-12-18 19:25:34

Agree with crusty sounds like your max hr is too low for a runner or triathlete.  I have the same model and regularly hit the 155-165 bpm range while running.  Not sure what my settings are as my EP or pm tech have not been particularly helpful in explaining things.  My sense is a pm is so routine to them that they don't take the time to understand patient lifestyles and adjust settings accordingly unless there is a complaint.  I'll be switching EPs in January for some other issues I'm having but so far running hasn't  been a problem.  

steve

by stevebne - 2022-12-18 20:43:53

I am a triathlete and back in the finishing shute a few months after my BS PM was installed.

The best way to think about this is that the PM is not the same as a normal heart but a compromise solution. As you are a triathlete, the challenge is to find settings that will work for swimming and cycling as well as running. The accelerometer is very sensitive to the motion of running, while less helpful for other activities. Hence, you need a setting that will work for cycling even though that usually means that running is often straight to the max HR setting. It looks weird in Garmin to see the whole run at your max HR setting (150 for me) but I am just used to it now. Note that your LT is probably higher than 130 so (as long as your heart disease is ok with it) having the whole exercise session at 130 is probably neither here nor there. Perhaps the easiest way to think of this is that in a normal person the exercise effort drives the HR while for us with a PM, the HR response is unrelated. This means that you cannot use HR for interval training and must use power or pace zones.

Of course this means that all the garmin performance stats are also wrong. 

130 seems low but that may be becuase you go into HB at a higher rate. That is why I am limited to 150 when my LT is 162.

 

Hope this helps :)

Settings

by doublehorn48 - 2022-12-19 13:53:53

My pm is set at 160 and it's been that way since my first one. It doesn't take a lot to get my rate to over 130. I would ask the cardiologist if there is a reason for 130. I'm not a doctor but it seems that raising your max would be helpful.

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