Running w. pacer

I received my pacemaker 19 days ago and am supposed to run a 4 mile race tomorrow. I am using a Forerunner 225 to track my heart rate. Any advice on how much stress I should allow?

6 Comments

Do you have to run it ?

by IAN MC - 2016-01-15 08:01:44

On balance I would not do a race only 19 days after implant. If you must do it though, my advice would be " Listen to your body ". If you are really breathless slow down and walk if necessary.

How you feel is far more important than readings on your HR device.

I see from your bio that you are 79

Best of luck if you decide to do it

Ian

Running

by PeteFindlay - 2016-01-15 09:01:48

Personal view is that if you want to do anything strenuous before the nominal 6 week taking things easy period is up, I'd check with your medical team. If they say ok, then ok!

I started running at 4 weeks. My clinic actually said it was ok when I asked at a check-up at 3 weeks, but I left it a full 4, sticking to fast walks. For the first few runs it was quite uncomfortable. I could feel the PM 'bouncing' in my chest with every stride. I did find that that feeling subsided after persisting for a few minutes.

Everyone is different, and the key thing is as Ian says - Listen to your body, slow down or stop if you need to.

running

by Tracey_E - 2016-01-15 09:01:54

Have you run at all since the implant? That's a little far for your first run. Your heart isn't the issue so much as soreness, that's a lot of impact on a new wound. Ice after, you're likely to be sore. In addition, it can take a few trips back to get your settings tweaked for you. Until that happens, you may have trouble with stamina. Be prepared to walk at least a chunk. I won't say don't do it because I'd probably be out there doing it too :o) However, take it easy, listen to your body, don't push it. You'll be able to run as far as you want and feel great again, but three weeks out is a little soon.

The hrm may or may not be accurate. I've never been able to get one to work. Either the pacer interferes and it won't give a reading, or it picks up the spikes as well as beats so it shows a number too high. JMHO but don't rely on it too much. The charts don't really apply to us so it's more important to pay attention to how you feel than what the monitor says. If I can talk but not sing, if I feel good, then I maintain my pace. Sometimes that's 130, sometimes it's 170, depends what kind of mood my heart's in that day.

tweaks

by Tracey_E - 2016-01-16 02:01:36

Why did you get the pacer? We can tell you more about the tweaks, but it varies greatly depending on how you pace. The settings they send us home are a good guess, it's not one size fits all and the settings generally aren't sufficient if we are active. Stamina could be the settings, could just be your body trying to bounce back. Have fun at the race! Post a picture in the gallery.

I would not do it

by golden_snitch - 2016-01-16 08:01:43

I'd definitely not run 19 days after the initial implant. The leads need time to heal in, the pocket needs time to heal, and when you run, you have quite some movement on the pacemaker site. In a German support group, we lately had two cases of people running just days or a few weeks after the implant: In one the leads came lose, in the other a huge hematoma developed in the pacemaker pocket.

I wasn't a runner when I had my initial implant, but when I had replacements/revision surgery I was told to wait at least 4-6 weeks.

Best wishes!

Running w. pacer

by turtle - 2016-01-16 12:01:37

Thanks for the advice, all. I have been walking/jogging the last week. Don't have the stamina I had before, but feel OK as long as I don't push it too much. If I go tomorrow, I will take it easy. Didn't know you could tweak the PM. Interesting.

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