Skiers w pacemaker

Hi.

Just had a biotronik edora dual lead implanted due to bradycardia. I am a serious skier, and while ski season is wrapped up until winter I am wondering if there are any pacemaker skiers out there, anything special you do to condition off season or any advice ahead of next season. My cardiologist said ok for me to continue the sport. (Of course!)

5 Comments

I'll jump in

by Persephone - 2022-05-14 20:52:12

No longer a skier - I'd have to drive too far for too long to get to skiing venues where I live, but I'm thriving very well with my Biotronik Eluna for everyday stuff like hiking, paddling, carrying heavy loads, etc. I'd advise requesting a one-on-one with a Biotronik technician via your clinic to get you all set and answer your questions directly. Ask for more if it doesn't take the first time. Best wishes to you.

response

by skigrl3 - 2022-05-15 16:33:14

Thank you, I plan on calling Biotronik ahead of the season (and I will drive 3 hours to ski for the day, haha). Its encouraging to hear that paddling, hiking and carrying heavy loads will be ok. Thanks for your response.

I find it best not to ski+stop, ski+stop

by crustyg - 2022-05-16 11:10:53

I also have a PM for brady and I've skied a couple of times since PM implantation.

I'm an enthusiastic intermediate level skier (== I use too much leg muscle and not enough hip+knee action), so if I set off on a challenging section without getting going my HR is low, and my legs really dislike it.  Once I've moved around a bit (activates the accelerometer in my PM) my HR comes up and I enjoy it.  What isn't so great is to ski with folk who do 400m and then want to stop - my HR drops like a stone and I'm back with jelly legs. 

So for me, I prefer to ski and keep skiing for a decent distance.  It's probably easier than road cycling (very little upper body movement in normal road cycling).

Have fun!

skiing

by AgentX86 - 2022-05-16 17:18:56

Alpine or Nordic? Either are going to take some real conditioning and PM tuning but they may be somewhat different.  You may need help optimizing your settings.

skiing w a pm

by skigrl3 - 2022-05-19 21:42:21

I will add to this thread again and say that I have fainted due to altitude without a pacemaker. While I don"t expect to be no longer affected by altitude, I hope that the pm will kick in before going down on the slopes. Agree numbers may need to be tweaked someday. (I am currently set at 50).

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