Most Recent Messages in Exercise & Sports

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Thanks so much to all that responded!!

Thanks to Joy1 ( Bonnie ), Tracey E, Kenslow ( Richon),turboz24, Janetinak ( Janet), and bowlrbob for your great input to my posting about leads being pulled out by doing chest excersices and sleeping with a pacmaker. Great peopl you are and great site. Thanks again -----Wren Brandt

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Volleyball?

Dear all,
I am 31 and I got a pacemaker implantation 4 weeks ago. As you can deduce, I was in shock because of my age. Lamentably I had in the past some episodes (faints) due to stress in general, and last time my heart stop around 22 seconds. Fortunately, I was at the hospital when it happened because I wanted to check if I had epilepsy (after fainting I had some epileptic-like attacks). The doctors took some blood from me to analyze it, and I faint because of that (they took so much blood...

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Chest excercises and pulling out leads?

Hi all. Just joined. I got a dual chamber Medtronic pacemaker Feb. 24th. My cardiologist told me to prevent the leads from being ripped out I should never ever do push-ups, bench presses, pec flys. Basically any pectoralis (chest) excercises and some shoulder excercises. Has anyone heard of this?.Also any jerking movements with the left arm. Thanks for the advice

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irregular beat

I'm an avid 49 year oldmountain biker training for a 100 mile mountain bike race at altitude. I have a demand pacemaker(Aug 08) that is set to activate should my heartrate decrease below 50 bpm. After exercise my heart rate is very irregular. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

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Heart Rate Monitor

Does anyone use a heart rate monitor when exercising?
I've been thinking about getting one but was wondering if some were more accurate than others. I have just been using the RPE when exercising, but since I'm basically a lazy person. . .well, it might not be too accurate for me. Any suggestions or feedback?

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getting pacemaker and running

Hi, I'm 48, male, have been running for over 2 years now. I currently am instructing a 1/2 marathon clinic. I started getting dizzy at the gym (never running) and decided to go for tests to determine the cause. Every time I went to the gym, 40 minutes or so into the workout I got dizzy and had to stop. The doctor sent me for stress tests with a cardiologist (I passed no problem) who then sent me for a tilt test. I failed the tilt test and during the test my heart stopped for over 15 seconds....

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I'm a Newbie

I'm having a defib/pacemaker combo installed this coming Tuesday and have two questions.
My Doctor who is also a golfer like me, told me he could put the device on my left side (I'm right swinging) up a little higher than normal so as not to interfere with my swing. Is that the best location, golfers?
Secondly, I lift weights in the gym. What is the safe healing time for working chest, shoulders, arms, even legs.
Also, and over my limit, any inside info of any kind I need to kno...

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Agree?

I had a pacemaker installed on valentines day. I would appreciate some advice on resuming my weekly bowling and bicycling. My instructions say 4 weeks after surgery, is that OK?

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feeling great

I got my pacemaker 8/12/08 and I feel better than I have in years. I now work out and I have dropped over 30 pounds since then. I tan but I wonder if it does effect me because I get really tired after tanning. Does this happen to anyone else?

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correlation between over exercising and having to get a pacemaker

I had a pacemaker implanted on dec 27, 2004. I'm a 43 year old and was an avid jogger, sometimes jogging 5-8 miles a day seven days a week.

I was diagnosed with bradycardia which is a slow pulse rate. That in and of itself is normal for a person that works out somewhat excessively. The problem was I would have periodic pauses of 3 seconds or more. Because of this the doctor knew the recommendation for pauses over 3 seconds was to have a pacemaker implanted. I had a second and third op...

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4 months post PM

Hello everyone,
It is now 1 month (exactly 4 weeks) since my PM was implanted and I am getting anxious to exercise again. Has anyone started doing light exercise at this stage and if so what kind of exercises and did you encounter any problems? I am also a golfer and know that I must still wait another couple of weeks before starting to swing again, but I would like to do something to loosen up my left shoulder area. I am being very cautious at this stage and make sure that I do not take...

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Exercise test and settings

Hi All, Had an eventful day with three treadmill tests to help determine the proper settings for my Adapta duel lead P/M. Key ingredient was turning down the upper sensor rate setpoint(from 85 to 48) This setting was preventing my h/r from increasing in the normal range. During the second run my rate easily went to 150 and went down in a normal period of time. We had the optimization on for the first test and turned it off for the second one to "freeze" it in position. Third run was with the...

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Baseball protection

I have a 5 year old son who is going to start t-ball this year. As an infant he had open heart surgery and at 2 he had a pacemaker implanted on his left side just above his pectoral muscle. I have found a shirt that has a protective plate that will cover his heart but have had no luck finding anything to protect his pacemaker. I would really appreciate it if any parent out there has had the same situation and what they have done or bought to protect their child's pacemaker. Thanks for your help....

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Exercise update

As some of you may have read I have been on a quest to regain some strength in my short chubby legs. I am (5' 2.75") I have been continually working on this task. I have been using the stepper, walking the chubby Pug, (dog) and staying busy. I haven't allowed myself to sit very long at any time. Today I also washed the car (the Porsche) and then went for a fast drive! Whoo Hoo, yes by myself.

I was just talking to my husband (he is engineering the train) and he says to me for the mill...

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How can I use a back pack with an ICD

Hi,
Is there anyone out there who uses a back pack with an ICD? Can some sort of padding be obtained ?
Rogeroz

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Winter Frolic 5K, White Bear Lake MN

Today I ran my first 5K race with a pacemaker! - 5 weeks post implant. About all I can say was I finished and got the T-Shirt, it was my 2nd slowest (34:57) of the 26 I've run over the past 2 years. I wanted to test/stess myself before my next PM checkup in less than two weeks and this was the only 5K I could find in the Mpls/St Paul area prior to the checkup.

I wanted to get some good data on the pacemaker recording and see how it felt so I could have a case to get my max PM...

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15 yr old son with complete heart block and bradycardia

I am trying to find out some info on whether or not my son will be able to continue to play high school basketball with a pacemaker. His condition has recently been upgraded from a 1st degree block to a 3rd degree block. He also has bradycardia with his average heart rate between 41 and 50 while awake. It dips into the 30's at night. His cardiologists says that he doesn't want to put in a pacemaker at this time. I have never heard of anyone with a complete block not on a pacemaker. Does an...

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returning to running

I had a pacemaker implanted in August, 2008. I was out running two days later, though with my arm held securely to my side to precent the leads from becoming displaced. I also was on the operating table three times for a cardio ablation, of which only the third was successful in keeping me out of arrythmia (I was pacing 100-220 all the time for 2 weeks).
Two weeks after my final ablation (and with my pacemaker) I ran a 5K road race and placed third in my age group.
Last Saturday, a d...

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Left Shoulder

I just got a pacemaker a week ago. I have my left arm in a sling and have been told to keep it below shoulder level for a month. A friend said there is a danger of the shoulder freezing up which is painful. Does anyone have any advice, exercises to keep the shoulder moving without endangering the leads? Thanks

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Exercise

Hi all you Pacer Chicks and Pacer Dudes. As you may have already read, I got positive results from my recent test.

I still have the same problem of not being able to climb any stairs. So I have been shopping, (solves most problems for me) he he. Anyway, with the encouragement of my hubby I have bought a step exerciser. The kind that sits flat on the floor and I step up and step down.

It came with a handy DVD just in case I couldn't figure it out. Cool I thought, so I popp...

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Member Quotes

At age 20, I will be getting a pacemaker in few weeks along with an SA node ablation. This opportunity may change a five year prognosis into a normal life span! I look forward to being a little old lady with a wicked cane!