Comment for sandy529

This is in response to Sandy 529 "having a hard time running now". I am 68 years young, very athletic, mostly a cyclist. 2 years ago I had an AV block necessitating implant of a medtronic dual chamber pacemaker. Immediately I was unable to achieve my former exertion levels, very frustrating. My cardiologist told me the pacemaker was limited to 150 bpm, and that I would have to live with that. I knew that I had prior been able to achieve much higher rates I was able to train my body to improve my energy levels somewhat, but I would still get winded rapidly when exerting myself. I was recently informed through a chance meeting with a Medtronic tech rep that Medtronic had software which could raise the max pulse. I had this procedure performed, rate increased to 171, also had the response rate increased to high, and lo and behold, vast improvement!

2 Comments

Comment for sandy529

by maryanne - 2008-04-26 02:04:38

That is awesome.....see change can happen.....I to am very active...and have met with the pacemaker clinic where they made adjustments to my pacemaker so I could reach higher levels for performance....I have a Medtronic dual lead PM as well, it's nice to hear that others are leading active lives....good for you!!!

Limits

by richan - 2008-05-08 07:05:40

Hi Sandy529,
I became attached to a Guidant 2 lead PM back in March 2005. My top half is 100% dependent and my bottom half is 60%. I told my cardio that I wanted to continue with my Masters Swimming like I was pre-PM. I had A-fib. Two cardioversions did not work. Not a lot of choice here - had to have the PM. So, PM lady worked with me a lot in the "tuning". My HR is set to go between 55 to 160 BPM. My med - Flecainide(sp?) controls the A-Fib. I, too, am frustrated because I can't do sets during work-outs like I used to. I'm told that the motion sensor does not work well when I'm prone so I have to rely on breathing to get my HR up to where it helps me. I hyper-ventilate when nobody else in my group is. Instead of being near the front of the pack, I'm almost the last one. I guess, at 68, I should be happy with where I am and that I haven't been demoted to a slower group.
It is a wonderful piece of technology. Without it, I'm thinking that neither of us would be doing what we are currently doing. Sound like your re-set at 171 helped alot. I'm going to talk with my PM lady about that! These gizmos do have limits.
Big picture - It is great to get up in the morning and every day is a great day.
Keep on going after it!
Richan

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Member Quotes

Sometimes a device must be tuned a few times before it is right. My cardiologist said it is like fine tuning a car.