Cycling

I have been a very active cyclist for many years, right up until the day before my PM implant a couple of weeks ago. Just wondering how long I should wait before getting back in the saddle. Also, how do other cyclists maintain their fitness between receiving a PM implant and getting back in the saddle?

7 Comments

Hi Shaun.....

by Tattoo Man - 2014-10-15 03:10:58



...........its all about stress on your shoulders.

Do observe the ' Over the shoulder' reaching thing..or you'll be back in the op room.

Be a good boy and you will be back in the saddle before long.

Tattoo Man UK

Biking

by WillieG - 2014-10-15 04:10:00

I had my pacemaker implanted in June due to heart block only when biking steep hills. I was riding again in 2 weeks and back to the hills in 3. I still experienced heart block after the pacemaker but after 2 setting changes I did not. But at the 6 week voltage turn down, I found out they had my ventricle pacing at 69%, so I went to the Cleveland Clinic for 2nd opinion. They turned the AV+ switch on and the minute ventilation off so that my own heart rate comes thru unless I skip a couple of beats. Since then I am pacing less than one % at last interrogation and since then zero, as I can feel when this happens.

I have 1430 miles on my odometer so happy biking to you, too! And good luck with recovery. I found the whole scene to be difficult.

Wilma

Your cardiologist...

by LuCas - 2014-10-15 08:10:09

Hello,
This is Lucio from Brazil. I hope that you are recovering and getting strong day after day.
Your cardiologist is the right person to answer all questions, because he knows the reason why you needed a PM, ok?
You didn't give us any details about you problem, so we don't know what your limitations are.
In my case, for example, due to a structural (heart muscle) disease (restrictive miocardiopathy), I took one year to slowly go back to exercises. But that is my specific case. I know people who went back to normal life just because their problem was just a conduction problem which caused the heart to slow down without other malfunction.
If you are a very active person, you will also need to have your PM adjusted to your lifestyle. Nowadays pacemakers allow us many possibilities and different settings. Fast response, slow response, minimum base rate, etc which are example of things that you may need to understand in order to speak with you EP technician.
But to help you, you need to know why you needed a pacemaker. I hope that my message is of any help to you.

Lucio
Happy with my St. Jude Medical Access
"perfect to my need"

my experience

by chip j - 2014-10-15 11:10:10

For me, I waited 4 days and began walking 3-5 miles a day, without a problem. I jogged after one week. Cycled after about 2 weeks. I had run and cycled consistently since about 19-20 years old- nearly 60 now. I had my PM implant in Jan 2013.

During my recovery from the PM implant, I tried to minimize my upper-body usage while on the bicycle- less climbing and intensity. Also, I used a stationary bike some to supplement my road riding. Good luck.

Thanks all for the comments

by Shaun - 2014-10-16 05:10:01

I don't have any issues with my heart muscle or pluming (thankfully), but I was diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome with pauses of greater than 5 seconds (while sleeping) resulting in syncope. I was implanted with dual chamber PM (for bradycardia) which is set to pace when my heart rate drops below 60 beats per minute.

Since I was cycling right up until the symptoms / PM implant, then I'm still reasonably fit, however I currently prefer exercises (such as walking) where I am in complete control of my movements so as not to risk pulling out the leads. Also, with not being able to lift my left arm above my head, I can't get my cycling jersey on/off and the straps on the cycling bib shorts will hurt the shoulder.

Let your leads finish healing

by COBradyBunch - 2014-10-22 11:10:54

Your doc can tell you best, but I was told it takes up to 6 weeks for those to completely create the scar tissue around them to make sure they stay in place and I was told no heavy duty exercising and definitely nothing that could really jar you like a crash. So talk to your doc. BTW, my issue was almost identical to yours but I was seeing up to 30+ second blocks and had a couple of passing out episodes. My RHR was 54 so after a lot of 'negotiation' between the tech (wanted to set it at 70), my doc (he wanted 60) and myself I had my pacer set to only kick in below 50 (I wanted 40 but doc said that was too low). But you will be back in the saddle soon enough. Got 2000+ miles in the year after implant, 3500, 4500, 7500 and 6000+ so far this year and my doc says everything looks great and I hardly ever use my pacer.

Former Cyclist

by lee8river - 2014-12-07 12:12:50

your own awareness is your best friend. Take small steps with activities-- as small as 5 minute increments. Play with intensities and time lengths.

It's true that you should find out what your limitations are in relation to your condition. In my case, that wasn't fully right.
I was very into cycling before my pm surgery. Afterward, it made me feel bad. I soon found the activities my heart could and could not take was surprising. I can do an intensive hour long hike and climb for days in a row, but I can't cycle for more than five minutes without feeling bad. It doesn't necessarily have to do with incline-- I often feel bad on level ground. I've also had a difficult time with yoga, but I think that makes sense since many of those poses effect heart rate and blood pressure. For some reason, jogging is easier on my system than cycling. After hiking, jogging in intervals is my new favorite cardio.

I hope that you still can continue to cycle!

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