Getting back into running

walking

by confused - 2017-03-08 17:31:47

Hi,

I was having trouble getting back to walking.   My hr would go up to 160 just all of the sudden with just an average walking pace.   Spoke to my ep and he looked at everything and decided to turn my rate response off.   It has helped me.   Guess it was kicking in thinking my heart needed help getting up there but it didn't.   I just now got up enough nerve to try a dance video this week a few times and everything is just fine  Oh, and my pm was put in October 12th and I am 45.

You may just need an adjustment.   Wouldn't hurt to give them a call.

Tammy

Getting back into running

by Jessbyrne - 2017-03-08 17:52:43

Thanks for your advice Tammy! It helps to know other people have had similar issues! 

Jessica

go back

by Tracey_E - 2017-03-09 13:46:25

It sounds like your settings need adjusted. They send us home with a good guess. No two of us are alike, and athletes are more challenging than couch potatoes, so the odds of them getting the settings just right the first time were low. This is normal!

Ask what your max rate is. With av block, your atria beats normally but the signal doesn't get to the ventricles. The pacer has a limit how high it will pace but they rarely set it as high as it can go, only as high as we need it. It's really common to need it changed on active patients with av block. Mine started at 120, it's 190 now. When it was 120, that meant if my atrial rate was 160, the pacer could only get my ventricles up to 120. That will kill a workout fast! 

Another thing to ask about is the safety feature for afib. With afib, the atria quivers instead of beating so it can result in a  very high pulse. Those clever pacers can sense that and help! (if there was a sarcasm font, I'd be using it here) They see the atria going high and kick in with an artificial 2:1 block, so pacing one ventricular beat to 2 atrial beats. That's great if you're in afib, but if you're out for a run it's like hitting a wall. They can turn that feature off, if it's causing the problems. 

Write down what times you've had problems and ask to be checked. They should be able to tell pretty quickly if you are hitting your upper limit or setting off the afib thing. If they make a few adjustments and it's still not right, ask to do a treadmill in the office while on the pacing computer so they can watch real time.

This is perfectly normal with an easy fix! You'll be back where you were, probably better, before you know it. But they won't know to tweak the programming if you don't tell them.

rate response

by Tracey_E - 2017-03-09 13:49:47

Rate response is another thing to ask about. That's when the pacer senses we are moving and raises our rate for us. With av block, the sinus node not getting our rate up is not our problem so we rarely need rate response. If it is turned on, sometimes it can compete with our natural sinus rate, so we feel better with it off.

Turns out I feel better with it on. Refer back to my comment above about taking multiple tries to get it right! Sometimes my sinus node slacks off, but with the av block we never noticed. I don't use it very often, but it makes a difference in my stamina. 

Getting back into running

by Jessbyrne - 2017-03-09 18:46:40

Thank you for the information TraceyE! I will take your advice monitor my running and go back to the doc with the information and questions.

Jessica