whant to ride my harley

I JUST HAD A ICD PUT IN FEB 22 2010 . HAD TWO OPEN HEART SURG.BYPASS ALL I WANT TO DO IS RIDE MY HARLEY . BUT VERY SCARED TO RIDE IT. AND WORIED ABOUT GETTING SHOCKED . CAN I HANDLE GETING SHOCKED AND STILL KEEP MY BIKE ON THE ROAD. HOW HARD IS THE SHOCK

8 Comments

Riding a motorcycle after ICD implant

by golden_snitch - 2010-03-19 06:03:55

Hi,

are you allowed to drive a car or ride a motorcycle about a month after ICD implant? In Germany you aren't, it's against the law (you could not only hurt yourself but also others when you receive a shock will driving/riding and cause an accident). I think you need to have had no shocks for at least 3-6 months before you are allowed to drive a car etc. again.

Best wishes
Inga

driving/riding

by Pookie - 2010-03-19 08:03:40

I don't know the answer to your question....I'm just more concerned about YOU if you ended up in an accident and harmed yourself ,and, of course, others on the road as well.

Perhaps you should be checking this out with your doctor AND I'd be asking my insurance company too, because what if you are NOT covered because you now have an ICD...my lord, I think you'd get sued up the ying yang???

When in doubt...check it out.

Take care,
Pookie

Shocks

by ElectricFrank - 2010-03-20 01:03:40

Ever have a spark plug wire come off and let you have it in the leg? Kind of the same sort of thing.

It's one of those crap shoot things. Chances are if you were ridding straight down a long road the bike would take care of you for a ways. Now if you were negotiating a sharp turn or trying to recover from a stretch of slippery road it might be quite different. The problem is that a lot of these cardiac events happen when we are under stress.

How about going for roller coaster ride to see how you react.

frank

Bigdog

by walkerd - 2010-03-20 07:03:18

I feel your pain brother. I underwent emergency highrisk bypass in Aug of 08 and implantation of pm/defib on sept 16 same year. All I could think about was getting on the bike and riding. After I think it was 3months after my bypass I rode it around the block and god did it feel good to be back on it as I was putting it back in the garage I kinda of sat there on her and thought man if my defib went off while I was crusing down the road at 60 to 50 mph and my defib went off I could be worse off then I am now and tear the bike up, hell I worry all the time if it happens when im driving my truck. Well my wife hated my bike and I kept thinking of selling her that thought took me six months to deciede, so I put her up for sale in may of 09 and in two weeks I was standing there with yes Ill say it tears running down my face as I watched her going down the road on someone elses trailer. But my wife had made a comment if I sold the bike I could get a boat, so to ease the pain I found a 18.5 foot skeeter deep v with a175 hp motor all set up for fishing.
It has to be your decision my friend and its a hard one but that was my decision just thought Id let you know what I did. I still miss riding in the wind but now I do it on the water instead of asphalt.

keep the rubber to the road my friend
good luck on your decision
dave

Harley-ing with an ICD

by cbaker - 2010-03-20 12:03:11


Bigdog, the laws vary from state to state, and in many laws, there are no specific driving restrictions after you get an ICD. The medical guidelines are this (of course your doc can give you info too):

1. All ICD wearers should avoid driving for at least 1 week after ICD placement.

2. After the 1-week wait period, asymptomatic patients who received their ICDs for primary prevention (i.e. no prior cardiac arrest) need not have their driving restricted. However, they should be informed that loss of consciousness is possible.

3. If a patient receives an "appropriate" shock (for ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation), that patient should not drive for 6 months thereafter. If the patient goes for the full 6 months without experiencing another appropriate therapy, then driving can be resumed.

As for how the shock will affect you, as you've read, it's different for different people. But you won't necessarily have to give up your Harley. Take it easy for a while and see how you feel! Good luck.

No problem

by ElectricFrank - 2010-03-21 01:03:36

Hey, this is the way I learn! Keep it up. I wouldn't post the things I do if I couldn't take it myself.

frank

ride it like you stole it

by dbmurf - 2010-04-13 01:04:27

i have been riden since i was 7 years old i got my icd in 2005 i started riden again in 2007 i have crossed the states twice since, i ride every chance i get i had some problems in 2006 i pulled a led loose but since then i am wide open i ride a fat boy and i also have a kawasaki 650 enduro i am 48 so get with it if something happens it happens you can be in the recliner or out on the road or be mak'n a head call it still going to happen so it boils down to worry or living your choice....murf

It's a personal choice

by Tickman - 2011-12-02 02:12:41

I'm late to this thread. Not sure anyone is bothering with it. But here's my two cents. Talk to your doctors and then see what feels right for you. The surgeon who put my ICD in said 'If you could ride before, you can ride after." I was shocked two weeks later. And then the very next night again. It's not fun. And it's different for everyone. The new ICDs (Like the St. Jude Model I have) only gives the needed amount of electricity. So some 'therapy' can be lighter than others.

My device also tries to pace me out of arrhythmia's and VTachs before it shocks me. So, I will feel if something is going wrong.

My second surgery was an ablation. And I have not had any adverse events since then. That was in early October of this year.

Additionally, depending on your device, they can set parameters so that you are shocked before you would go unconscious. Right now I have a very low Heart Rate ceiling. I cannot let my heart rate hit 150. If I do, my device will think something is wrong and shock me. I'm seeing my electrophysiologist next week and hopefully he'll be able to raise that. But the whole goal is to keep you conscious.

Long story short (I know, too late for that) I've been riding on days I feel really good. In fact I rode my bike to work today (2012 HD Night Rod Special). I wear a heart monitor and my heart rate never goes about 65 when I'm on my bike.

I certainly wouldn't want to receive a shock while riding. My hope is that 'fuzzy' feeling and my pace-maker burst will give me enough time to pull over. Regardless, I'm fairly confident, based on the shocks I experienced, that I would not lose control of my bike. It is a split second. But one you need to mentally be prepared for.

I wish you and everyone with a device the best -- and I hope you're all able to continue on with the activities that you love. My goal is to not let Sarcoidosis take anything away from me. And I feel most like me when I'm with my family and when I'm riding.

All the best

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