Breathless during heat & humidity

Hi, I've had my pacemaker since May 3rd. I initially was still having trouble up & down stairs, with breathlessness. It seemed to get a bit better as I healed up and maybe regained some level of fitness. With the summer heat & humidity, the breathlessness is back when I'm up & down the stairs doing laundry. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm thinking this may just be part of my "new normal". Something I will have to be aware of during any heat/humidity wave.

9 Comments

Hi!

by pezzypooh - 2010-07-11 11:07:18

Hi, there...I have experienced the same issue. I am by no means a fit individual, but I formerly could walk up stairs and deal with heat and humidity a bit better...I am utterly exhausted on hot days now and cannot even think of going up the stairs at work. I do, however, have to do it at home for laundry as well, so, I just make sure I can sit down and breathe when I get upstairs (I live in a second floor flat with the laundry in the basement!). Just take it easy...I have been figuring out my limits since I got my pacemaker in April, 2009...you will figure things out a bit over time as well! Good luck!

Breathless in heat and humidity

by karena - 2010-07-12 02:07:05

YES! I have had my pm a little over 2 years. Before i was an athletic very fit person. since then i have not gotten back to that though I have tried.my doctor says"its not the pacemaker-forget you have it and get on with your life. So this summer I decided to try that- but I just can not-going up stairs leaves me breathless and exhausted and going out into the heat and humidity....I just can not.....I thought it was just me!
I have just found this site and have so many questions. The Dr.s though they seemed so wonderful while I was so ill and w/out the pacer - I would not be here-but they just leave you after as though you should just get on with it ...you are Ok now-but so much is different!

Rate Response

by Hot Heart - 2010-07-12 04:07:06

Hi! Check you got it switched on.

HH

I agree, Karena

by Meema417 - 2010-07-12 08:07:04

Thank God I found this site! I too have had a wonderful doctor and medical care. Yet, I felt just "cut loose" after my post-op check-ups. I think the medical professionals deal with this so much, they begin to think of it as common as a tonsillectomy. I had so many questions & I found the answers to most of them right here. Next question I have, (as I try to forget about my pm & get on with my life) how long will my chest muscles be sore after I do things like weed my garden or hand wash my car? Is this too much physical activity 2 months after my pm was inserted? My left shoulder hurts a lot as I started to use my left arm again. My chest & collar bone area are still swollen. I would be easier to forget about my pm if I didn't need to ice pack my shoulder and have so much pain as I try to use and lift my left arm. I'm guessing things will be better in time.

Up the stairs - do you need to adjust your PM parameters?

by 1977-Hodgkins - 2010-07-14 02:07:02

I've found it all too common that climbing stairs prior to the pacemaker was so much easier. Keeping up with those your own age - on foot or by bike also become impossible. You get dizzy and fatigued.

Could this be a function of the pacemaker parameters set by your technicians during interrogation? I'll bet it is. I find that few if any doctors even understand these parameters. When I first had mine set, I could barely walk around. I then had it reset and I'm better, but still a bit slow.

Anyone have any stories on parameters and physical performance limits?

Re: Pacemaker Settings

by Lars - 2010-07-24 12:07:22

It could be physiological ( ie; you ) or it could be due to your pacemaker settings ... that is why I always encourage my pacemaker patients who are nuts about their sports to keep a copy of their pacemaker printouts and find a friendly tech or doctor to help tailor your pacemaker settings to you and your activities ... Lars, www.cardiacathletes.org

breathless too

by pedrn01 - 2010-07-27 07:07:07

I had my pacemaker inserted on June 2nd 2010. I have resumed my regular activities but find I am breathless going up and down stairs. I can feel my pacemaker go off a lot on days I am out walking or home cleaning. Yet I can go for days and weeks without feeling it while being busy. Does anyone else have periods of feeling great but then have 3 to 4 days of feeling the pacemaker going off and feeling breathless. I was told they could adjust setting but u need to wait until u have had pacemaker for 3 to 4 months. Any comments?

Breathless in Michigan

by Meema417 - 2010-07-27 08:07:12

Yes, One time I did feel my pacemaker "fire" in the early morning hours. It freaked me out, yet I had to tell myself that it's a good thing it went off because that meant my heart rate had dropped really low; so it was doing what it was put in there to do. I did phone my cardiologist today and left a message for the nurse that I was feeling breathless during this heat & humidity wave. Whether it was a gentle bike ride, taking the laundry outside to hang on the lines, or kneeling down, weeding the garden. If this is my new normal, I have no option but to accept it. My question was; are these breathless episodes hurting my heart or is it a sign that I am gaining new cardiac strength, thereby helping my heart? I'm learning that post-pm, I have really had to be strict with my own thoughts and to stay mentally tough. So, pedrn01, does your pacemaker speed your heart up or is it there to slow it down, when needed?

Always panting

by FutrMzzD - 2010-07-30 10:07:39

Hi,

I was reading all the posts and wanted to comment. I'm 20 years old with an 19 month old son. I got my PM a year ago march. Since then I cant go up and down the stairs, I cant run wildly with my son at the park. I can barely make it from my car to the bottom step of my apartment, maybe 200 feet, at most. My doctor last spring had me on a Handicap parking thing for 9 months after surgery because I couldn't do anything myself. I got my PM put in because the surgeon who did my tachycardia ablation burned too much and blocked off the main electrical pathway in my heart. Went into complete heart block 2 1/2 weeks after surgery. I try and try to be active and happy all the time. I even had them fix the settings on my PM, I am having it checked again in a week. But in the past 4 months I have gained so much weight I weigh nearly as much as I did when I gave birth to my son, which is a huge gain in comparison to what I used to weigh.
M husband worries about me all the time because I get depressed, anxious, and all around emotional about things. I'm still hoping I will feel better, and maybe they need to change the settings again. Right now I am working on finding a diet and exercise plan that I can actually DO without wanting to pass out.

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