restrictions lifted but have lead concerns

6 weeks post op from pacemaker bring fitted and my EP said get back at ot as hard as ever. Keep in mind he is a competitive tri-athlete himself. I do crossfit as ive posted before. My only concern is involving all the repetitive upper body movements is that i will damage a lead by it moving in that one spot over and over. Also ive read warnings where i coukd crush my wires with heavy over head lifting. My doc says i wont. But some people on this site were told not to do these things. What are your experiences with damaging leads

4 Comments

risks

by Tracey_E - 2015-05-10 04:05:03

My dr is firmly in the "do whatever you want" school. I've been paced and active for 21 years, been doing CF for 4 years, no issues. Repetitive motion is a potential problem if it's part of your work or if you are a competitive athlete who trains for hours a day. What we do in a WOD isn't enough to erode a lead, esp since we change it up daily. I spent 2 hours kayaking this morning. If I did that daily it might eventually cause problems, but the handful of times a year I get a chance to do it are not a problem.

So Far So Good

by PeteFindlay - 2015-05-11 07:05:33

My consultant said the leads are robust and designed to move with you.I have not been given any cautions about movement limitations - extreme range of movement, weights or repetitive movements. The only restrictions anyone has mentioned is to avoid direct impact to the PM site, as this could damage surrounding tissue (not the PM or leads) and lead to infection. Mine is well hidden under the muscle so this hasn't been an issue.

I'm almost exactly 1 year post implant and follow a pretty intense CrossFit program (for my age, at least!). No problems so far.

There seem to be a range of medical opinions, some far more cautious than others. Some don't seem to be used to dealing with younger more active patients either, so err on the side of caution due to lack of experience.

If it was a widespread issue, I'd expect to see a lot more formal guidance issued for us users - at least more than the current none at all, or even positive encouragement to get back on it some of us get.

Ultimately it's up to you. You can guarantee not to have any issues if you stay sat on your couch, or you can take your chances and maybe risk something that may never happen, and deal with the consequences if it should. That's been my approach.

Fractured lead and movement

by srahkola - 2015-06-19 01:06:46

Have had my PM in for 4 years and am currently looking at relocating it to my abdomen because of my competitive Outrigger and Marathon canoe paddling.
This is repetitive: training usually 1 1/2 hours 3x week. 60-70 strokes per minute. Interval session's I get into 170 to 190 BPM on a heart rate monitor.

I am fortunate in that my PM is my back-up in that when I vomit my heart stops upwards of 25 seconds.

I know I will get the flu and food poisoning in the future and don't want my wife and children see me fall to the floor again.

A question to you active Cross Fit groups, have you heard anything about abdominal insertion of PM's.

repetitive movements

by wljonesaa - 2015-06-19 06:06:14

Im still new to all this but ive haf my restrictions lifted for a month now. Ive been full speed at crossfit with no problems thus far. Im competitive at crossfit being that i travel and compete. As you can see by all of my previous post and concerns i was very hesitant. Crossfit is full of competitive movements. But just my blood pressure is putting it through constant motion in the vein. But my EP is a very competitive tri-athlete and je supposedly placed my in a way that i would be better off than if it had been more traditionally placed.. He says for me to have no worries and live life. At 33, i got to believe they can fix whatever i mess up even though i really dont want to mess up anything.

You know you're wired when...

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