Most Recent Messages in Exercise & Sports

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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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"New Wheels"

Hi all, I have changed Cardios and have been trying to get an exercise test to determine why my h/r will not exceed 125. Long story short I was asked to run around the parking lot and had my settings changed. Trying out my new "wheels" I was not able to get h/r higher than 103 while running and jogging for 30 minutes. I called the p/m tech and told her two of the settings could be the problem and she reluctantly agreed to see me after doc said it was ok. In the meantime I had been speakin...

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General exercise

I had my PM implanted in October 2008 for Sick Sinus Syndrome. Before I had the PM implanted I was running around 5 miles every other day. Since then I really have not been exercising on a regular basis but I have continued to exercise. In the past Month I have been more regular with my exercise, running around 3-4 miles every other day (heart rate while running average:140-150 high:175). Since October I have been feeling great (no chest pains, not light-headed, not faint). However in the...

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Swimming

Hi everybody,
Does anyone have an idea of how soon after having a P.M. fitted you can take up swimming lenghts again?
I have had mine in for 11 days now.
Thanx

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question on pain

quick history, i have CHF, now have icd with defib. and PM and used to get angina daily, very bad...this went on for about a year or so before eventually becoming minimal. it still strikes but not as often. i asked my many cardiologists many a times where it was coming from and why and only one offered me a direct answer, saying that maybe there was still blockage in the tiny arteries which were impossible to get a stent into. the others just shook their heads like i was in la-la land and di...

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Hockey

Hi all, My first post! Just wondering if there are any members out there have returned to full contact hockey? Im a 28 yr old semi-pro hockey player. I had my PM sub pectoraly implanted 9 days ago. Everything went well but im itching to get back out there! I know I will be out for a good while yet. My condition is not life threatening the PM is precortionary, which is why i'v been told I can continue to play (with extra padding!). Probably have hundereds of questions but will only post a couple;...

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Golf

Are there any members out there that play golf? I had my PM surgery one week ago and now have only 5 weeks to wait until I can play again. My question is, once healed and no chances of pulling out the leads, is your swing affected very much because of having a PM in your left shoulder?

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kilimanjaro

Has anyone done any treking at altitude i have been thinking of doing this trip to kilimanjaro for some years but now am worried about any extra problems i could possibly encounter?

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Legs aching

Interested to read about the guy with the aching legs going up stairs.

I still have problems with my legs feeling like lead when I attempt to go up hills or if the stairs go on forever. Whether it is because I have lost the fitness in the muscles or problem, not sure.

Still running and have just started body pump classes again.

I am going to ask my Cardiologist at the Pacer Clinic when I go in March, just trying to remember all these different things I...

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exercises using weights

hello, does anyone know about using weights with doing exercises. I am now using 2 handheld weights each one weighing 1 kg = 2.2 lbs
even with this I am still a bit concerned about breaking and/or damaging one of my leads to my heart failure pacemaker that I have for the cardiac resynchronization therapy.
Anyone know up to what weights is safe?
Thanks for any info.Greetings Pacey.

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BB & pm

What about the contact aspect of BB, how durable is a pm and can it take an elbow or shoulder blow w/out damage?

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BB with pm?

I'm recommended for a pm due to av node complete block, my question is whether, with a pm, I can continue to play over 40 pickup basketball, I play 4-5 times weekly, full court, some of the games are fairly serious, because if you lose, you sit.
2nd question, will my cardiac condition improve w/ a pm, my ejection fraction is 55% w/ a resting hr of 33-37, max hr during exercise of 105-108.
I'm 62 and still have a few years left in the over 40 games before moving to the retiree games....

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Higher (lower) - elevation sports?

I've heard rumors and stuff about not being able to ski, snowboard, dive, etc. with a pacemaker. Oh yeah, and taking tours of dams? Is this true? I wouldn't do that anyway with my cold fingers and toes, but I was just wondering... :)

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Your signature looks like an EKG.

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