New Pace maker /athlete

Dear pace maker friends

I was diagnosed 12 years ago with sinus bradycardia due to Right brachial Branch block. Lived and exercised regularly with resting HR 42bpm, at night 38bpm. Max HR during exercise was 100bpm. No light headedness, no fainting. Recently I  had severe breathing problems. At ER my resting HR was 32bpm. Next day (Sept. 4), a Medtronic pm was placed with two leads. 

I started walking on treadmill after two weeks. I was not happy with my HR on treadmill. at 3.7m/h walking  it hit 130bpm. Technician/cardiologist adjusted the rate response and now I am hitting 100bpm at 3.7m/h and 130 bpm at 4.2 m/h.

Still not happy. I believe its too high. I want to jog with 130bpm not walk! What will happen if I jog at 5-5.5 m/h on treadmill. Have an appointment with cardiologist and an appointment with an electrophysiologist for a second opinion.  Have passed many stress tests with flying colors in the past. Will have another one in 2 months. Cardiologist said last week if you are not happy we can shut off the pm rate response and just leave not below 60bpm at rest. After that your heart takes over anything above 60bpm.  I am not sure if I need another adjustment before this drastic action. I am not sure even if this approach is common practice.  That's why I will get a second opinion.. I want my normal routine life back, 3 x  a week pickle ball and 3 x a week HIIT, Spin and Muscle work. I rest on Sundays.

Another problem came up. The lead in the ventrical has moved a little during the first 4 weeks  the new location  may require more voltage and reduce the shelf life of the battery. But computer monitoring indicated 98.1% of the pace is due to the Auricle lead (SA node) and 1.9% is due to the ventrical lead. Medtronic tech suggested I need another surgical intervention to correct the location of the lead. Cardiologist wants to wait afraid of infection since it has been only about 4.5 weeks and also due  to very small contribution of the ventricular lead, That is why I will consult for a second opinion. I had a chest X Ray done yesterday to ascertain the location of the ventricular lead. 

I am 73 years and 11 months  young, male, 140 lbs, never smoked and stayed active all my life.

I have suffered from anxiety since this foreign object was placed in me and changed my life style. But it also saved my life, that's what I remind myself.

If any of you have experienced what I have please kindly contact me through this portal. I will appreciate every response, advice and encouragement.  The adjustment for HR and going under the knife again for this misplaced lead bother me a lot. When you are not an expert you have to rely on medics (if they communicate) and others who have had similar experiences. 

Thank you for your time and advice

 

George Aynilian

 

 

5 Comments

Athlete PM Issues

by KonaLawrence - 2018-10-05 03:44:40

Aloha GHA,

I'm also an athlete.  I've only had my PM for 9 months so I don't have the long experience of many of the folks here, but here's what's worked for me.  After you get a PM, there is usually a 30 day checkup, then at 6 months, then annually after that.  I've had 8 appointments in 9 months.  My exercise regime is different than yours and my medical issues a bit different too, but the standard PM settings aren't for athletes.   Use the search function on this site for "athletes" and "pacemaker settings" and you will get lots of posts with good information.  In any case, I also went to the Medtronics website and downloaded the manual for my PM and figured out what I would like changed.  The PM is a complex computer running some very complicated programs (apps).  As with any program (app) there are many parameters that can be changed. 

In my experience the cardiologists, EPs too, are not deeply familiar with the PM software.  Their job was to decide you needed it and what model.  After that it's mostly up to the device specialists.  Meditronics conducts classes and certifyies technicians in the software.  Some technicians are more experienced than others.  By all means talk things over with your cardiologist/EP, but the device technician is the expert on what can and should be changed. 

By the way, I've scheduled my next PM appoointment 12 months out.  I have finally reached the point where my heart rate is solid for resting, low-level activity and high-intensity exercise.    I'm very happy with my pacemaker.  It is not the same as the original equipment, but I'm happy with my lifestyle.

Good Luck,  Lawrence

 

Still having trouble with stairs

by Queen50 - 2018-10-05 08:08:47

Your story about how you got your pace maker sounds very much like mine. I am fine with my pm except for 3 things. Going up stairs still makes me dizzy and winded to the point that I hug a wall every time - especially  if I’m carrying something. Secondly, when I walk, every day, inclines make me very winded and somewhat dizzy and thirdly I don’t do well in hot weather. I was adjusted many times but the technicians can’t seem to figure it out. I think my next call may be to Medtronic to see if they can figure it out. Otherwise my life is good. Maybe this is my new normal but I’m going to check with Medtronic first bc why be dizzy on stairs if you don’t have to for the rest of your life?  Btw I’m 7 months since implant in March. 

Talk to your technician

by Buzbuz9 - 2018-10-06 18:20:05

I'm not an athlete, but I am a teenager who's about to backpack across all of Europe, so I do exercise quite a bit. My heart problems aren't the same as yours, but most cardiologist don't actually know how to specifically program pacemakers. However your technician (who brings in the machine to your cardiologist office and runs all the information on your pacemaker), will know how to make these more exact changes and I would recommend talking to them about exactly what you want to be able to do. you will have to remember that it's a computer and not a normal heart so it won't adjust a hundred percent exactly the way you want but you should be able to get it closer to what you're looking for.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Talk to your technician - Stairs

by AgentX86 - 2018-10-06 21:28:55

I talked with a tech yesterday about geting some more diagnostics turned on and mentioned that stairs were still an issue.  She said that stairs will probably always be an issue. The body needs more oxygen than the motion implies.  Didn't sound promising but fortunately, I don't have a lot of stairs that I need to negotiate.

Athlete issues

by phadzip - 2018-10-09 19:06:49


Hi George:

I ran 27 marathons before my heart issues flared up. The last my 8th Boston, three years, which I believe I ran with a wonky heart.

I got my pacemaker in July of this year and resumed light jogging in August. My PM is set to maintain my HR at a minimum of 50 bpm. I was often down to the low 30s before the procedure - not because I was in marathon shape. It's supposed to work up to 130 bpm.

My HR often hits 160-170 when I'm out for a run - I'm just under 6 mph right now. Trying to get back into shape.

I don't feel symptoms with the higher HR. My technician said all looked good when I saw her just over a month ago.

So I am trusting that all is well and that the body needs more time to adjust. Yes, I feel the thing every once in a while and it bugs me a bit.

I'm a terrible patient but I'm learning to live with it and temper my expectations.

Anyway, what I'm saying is to give it time and understand that getting a PM is a major procedure and the body needs time. If your lead came loose, it could be that you did more than you should've before you should've done it.

I'm signed up for a 5K race in 2 weeks. I don't expect to go under 30 minutes, which is really slow for me. I've done that in under 20 minutes. But I couldn't do that until I was 50.

I hope things work out. But do be a patient patient.

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Member Quotes

It is just over 10 years since a dual lead device was implanted for complete heart block. It has worked perfectly and I have traveled well near two million miles internationally since then.