Fitness Challenge

Hi, My ICD pacemaker defibrillator was implanted on 6/19/13. I feel much better and I am ready to start a serious exercise challenge to lose about 70 pounds. I feel really confident about the lower body and the cardio but I am a concerned about the arm exercises. Does anyone know what arm exercises are safe for people with ICD's and what weight max is safe. I don't want to pull my leads out. I am 49 and I have been heavy since 2nd grade. I do walk, and I have run 5K's and biked long distances but I have never been fit. I really want to maximize my potential now. I think my weak heart has affected me and my abilities my whole life. I have been reading the posts since I found out I needed the unit and I really have found them helpful. I look forward to some help on this. Thanks :)

6 Comments

70 lbs, now that's...

by donr - 2013-09-10 09:09:50

...a challenge!

First of all, YOU WILL NOT PULL YOUR LEADS OUT!!!!! Not this long after the surgery. Of course, that presupposes that they were implanted correctly!

Second, you did not tell us WHY you have the ICD. That will influence what you can do/should do.

Third, what about meds? Are you on any? Some of them can severe;y affect your ability to function at high output levels necessary to lose weight.

Third, what are the parameters set in you ICD? Does it pace you at all? If so what are the upper & lower limits on Heart rate that are set in it?

Fourth, you mention a "Weak heart" - weak in what way? You mention running 5 K's & biking long distances - that implies that your heart must be fairly normal to allow you the cardio-vascular fitness required to do what you describe.

How long were you affected by the symptoms that lead up to requiring the ICD/PM?

Arm exercises will not, in and of themselves, lead to weight loss. That takes aerobic exercise that burns calories through cardio-vascular loading. Generally that requires use of the large muscles of the lower extremities.

Fifth, you have to get on a diet that will support weight loss. Exercise burns calories, but it takes a big slug of it to burn many calories. You did not tell us your eating habits. Overweight since 2nd grade tells me that you have long term poor eating habits that have to be modified to lose 70 lbs - that's a significant percent of your body mass, no matter how big your skeletal frame is - Arnold or Mickey Rooney!

Back to the leads - the scar tissue is now strong enough to hold the anchor points very nicely, thank you. At this point in the history of a lead replacement, I took a Jeep Cherokee at 35 mph in the right shoulder that turned my chest cavity into what looked like a pile of bones at a dinosaur dig. (Somewhat of an exaggerated simile, but it makes its point). My cardio feared that my heart would have been ripped from its moorings by the impact & I did develop a minor aortic aneurysm from the impact, but an X-Ray showed my NEW lead happy as a clam in the Massachusetts mud on a beach, just pacing away.

Further, IF they are in there correctly, there is enough slack in them that no way can you stretch it all out to tug on the implant site. As a bonus, they should be sutured to the body where they enter the subclavian vein where they take their plunge into your heart.

Stretching your shoulder enough to put any stress on the implant site would require joining the Flying Wallendas in their circus trapeze act. I don't think you are going to do that!

I'll let someone else talk about what exactly you should do to exercise in a weight loss program.

Don

More Info

by arkantos - 2013-09-10 10:09:12

Thanks for the comment.
I had a bundle branch block and was tired and out of breath overall felt it was a struggle to put one foot in front of the other. I had an efraction? rate of 19%. There are three leads implanted and my doctor only said to not ride motorcycles and he would prefer I don't ride bikes.
I am on the following meds: Losartin 50mg two times a day, Carvedilol 3.125 two times a day and happy pill Sertraline HCL 50 mg one time a day. I do not have high blood pressure.
When I ran the 5K my best time was 36 minutes at about 34 years old. But before the implant I was jogging a mile in about 20-25 minutes. I walk on my lunch when I can about 2.5 miles but not at a very fast pace because I sweat a lot and I work in an office.
I have very poor eating habits. I am starting to limit my carbs to morning and more protein in my diet after noon. I am 5 foot 4 and I weigh 237.

Glad to hear you are ok.
No flying Wallendas in my future however my Dad's family were tightrope walkers with the Sell's Circus.( I am afraid of heights) LOL

ask your dr first but

by Tracey_E - 2013-09-10 10:09:27

Always check with your dr before starting anything new that's rigorous but whatever you want to do should be fine. There are drs who will say nothing overhead or nothing heavy overhead, some will say no bar work like pull ups, but most drs do not put restrictions on us. My official instructions are stop if it hurts. I do Crossfit so I do all sorts of crazy things. This morning I was holding sandbags over my head and yesterday I was doing sit ups and reverse burpees while holding a med ball over my head.

Are you working on diet also? Fitness is more diet than exercise. You can exercise like crazy but if you aren't giving your body the right fuel, you won't see the results you want.

Are you going it alone or do you have a formal challenge? I just started this with a team from my gym on Saturday. It's international, and I'm pretty sure it's not not too late to join. It's whole life so exercise, stretching, diet and weekly challenges (water is this week).
http://www.wholelifechallenge.com

carbs

by Tracey_E - 2013-09-10 10:09:49

Complex carbs are ok, but simple carbs are not a good choice in the morning, they will make you crave carbs in the late afternoon. Protein will fill you longer, it's a better choice for breakfast. And most of your diet shouldn't be carbs or protein, it should be fresh fruits and veggies.

Do you know why your EF is so low? BBB is electrical and causes a low pulse, EF is how strong the heart is and generally unrelated. Hopefully the 3-lead will bring it up and give you more energy.

Again More

by arkantos - 2013-09-10 10:09:51

I go in the 18th of September for my check up. My cardiologist said he would schedule me to be twilight sleep and shocked to set up I guess the parameters of the defib

90 Day Challenge

by mrsreachhaiti - 2013-09-16 11:09:30

I had my pacemaker placed in July 2012. I had been on bedrest almost a year before my pacemaker and lost all my physical strength and gained some extra weight as well. My husband and I are doing a health challenge focusing on 90 days at a time. Our first 90 days, I lost 26 pounds. Now that I have lost the weight, I am focusing on fitness and getting my strength back. We workout at home with Bob Harper's dvd's and 2 hand weights, and we also use a nutritional shake through Visalus for breakfast and as a post-workout protein shake. I am stronger than ever before and building muscle now!! I got the dvd set at Target pretty cheap and get our Visalus online through www.waitingnomore.com. Good luck on your challenge!!

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