Most Recent Messages in Exercise & Sports

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Insanity

I have had my pacemaker for 2 1/2 years, and I am looking into doing INSANITY. I am 31 years old, and run regularly, but have not done much as far as upper body workouts due to things I have read about possible dangers involved with push ups and presses. I have seen the commercials, and it looks pretty intense. I am wondering if anyone is doing the program, and if it requires any exercises that would be too dangerous with a pacemaker.

Any info or personal experiences with the program...

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Traveling to kona Hawaii

Does anyone out there scuba dive with a pacemaker. Thanks

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Tired after walking or swimming

Hi, I am 44 have had my PM for 5 months,after having very sudden complete heart block in December. It has been a slow and long recovery, but have been feeling a lot stronger of the past few months, started physio to recover some arm movement and have been walking about 30 minutes daily since February and recently started swimming again.

During moderate exercise I feel great and am never short of breath or feel bad in anyway, but sometimes like today,afterwards I feel over extended and...

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Fool your pacemaker's accelerometer?


I'm wondering if anyone has devised a gizmo that taps on their accelerometer-based pacemaker to make it increase their heart rate?

My Medtronic pacemaker uses an accelerometer to do adaptive rate response. It worked well for running. But my knee has deteriorated so now I mainly bicycle. Unfortunately, when I cycle there's not enough motion for my pacemaker to sense it and increase my heart rate.

I assume that the pacemaker cannot be set sensitive enough for cycling (a...

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Swimming crawl

Hi

5 years in and my doctor says not a good idea to swim crawl because of where the pacemaker wires are implanted. Best to swim breast stroke.

I swim 20 to 40 lengths three times a week.

Anyone heard of this?

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Tight Bicep when swimming

I had my PM fitted early March this year and have returned to swimming but am finding that after only 400m my left bicep is swelling and tightening up making it almost impossible to continue swimming Front Crawl, I have not tried backstroke or Fly since the fitting. Just wondered if anyone else had come across this and what you did to sort it out. I should point out that I have been a competitive swimmer for 40years and have never had this problem before the PM fitting.

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Jogging and Heart Size?

Good Morning All,

Just a brief background, I had a pacemaker implanted on 1/6/12 due to what I call a "freakish" reaction to passing out when I get a stomach virus. I don’t pass out otherwise. This has happened 4x in the past 20 years, I always go to the emergency room for help. This time around I walked out 2 days later with a pacemaker because I had a 22 second heart rate pause.

A recent echocardiogram revealed I had thickening on the left side...

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playing tennis

Hi,

I had my PM installed 4 days ago. I am feeling super and no pain at the incision at all.  My doctor told me that I can restart playing tennis in 4-6 weeks.  My only concern is a fear that a tennis ball may hit me directly on the PM spot...any danger?  Is there any protection that I could wear?

Thanks for your comments and thanks for this site where, I already have found many answers.

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Waiting to submerge

I have recently had a St. Jude pacemaker implanted.  I plan on returning to scuba diving in a couple of months. 

Is there any one out there who uses a special device to protect the pacemaker from the weight exerted on the BCD strap that lays over the pacemaker?

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Triathlon

I'm super pumped! I'm going to do my 1st triathlon in 2 weeks! Have wanted to do one for about 3 yrs now (b4 my pm implant)!! I'm ready to rock and roll! :)

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New in PM world

I will join the club in a week or two. I was doing a lot of sports (Ironman, Triathlon) and the doctor says that my problem maybe related to this (I have slow heart beat but from time to time long pauses). I wonder whether I can go back to intensive activity (long running, biking, and swimming).  They said swimming is a problem. 

Anyone experience such a recovery at an age similar to mine (58)?

Giora

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Keep trying

Hi all, each morning I awake not feeling 10 years younger but I have the desire to feel that way. I make myself go to the gym but I'm challenged by myself! I push to walk/jog for at least 30-45 minutes. I do feel dizzy but I feel like that all day long. Then when I get home, I have lunch and have to take a nap. Most days its only an hour but every 2-3 days it turns into a 2 hour nap.

Am I doing something wrong?

Natalie

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Sun Salutations & Down Dog

Hey yall, I've been reading the posts about yoga and have not found exactly what I'm looking for, so here goes:
(it'll be 6 weeks post implant on Wed :o)

1. Knowing that everyone is an individual, what is the average time frame to return to SS & DD - at 6 weeks, 9 weeks or longer?

2. If 9 wks or more is safest, what can be done to modify SS & DD between 6-9+ week period?

3. I'm surprisingly still sore on the sides of my pm when I lay on my left side. How lo...

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Swimming?

I received my PM on March 10th - very unexpected. I was told to not lift my arm over my head for 2 months and that I cannot do anything strenuous for 3 months. I really enjoy swimming and kayaking. I'm a 63 year old woman. The weather has turned really nice and I'd like to get out and do some of these activities, but know I'm at 6 weeks. I started researching how long people waited to start swimming. I noted that someone said their doctor made the lead a little extra long, so that they c...

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Heart rate monitor suggestion?

Hi,
I've tried a couple heart rate monitors and have gotten wildly inaccurate numbers. Can anyone recommend one that works well with a PM while exercising? Are there any wrist variety ones that are accurate? I don't want ones that attaches to the finger tip -- that would be no fun to work out with! Any others appreciated.
Thank you as always for any advice.

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resuming workouts

I received my device 3/22/12. On 5/8 I should be cleared to start working out again and playing soccer. In the event that I have an episode where my pacer is used, what will it feel like? Will I even know it? Will I feel totally sapped like I did prior to receiving my device?

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Biking hills, bottoming out, ultra beat after

Hi,
I've be road biking about 20 miles of hills pretty hard once or twice a week and as much as 80 miles a week max. Unpredictably, sometimes I hit a hill and just can't push the climb as normal and feel weak and slight nausea and minor light-headed as if you just did a sprint. Other times I blast through the same part. Sometimes it seems linked to poor sleep the night before or heavy deadline work stress the day of ride. Last night was one such occasion and I felt beyond tired when I retur...

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Pacemaker and Steam

I had a Medtronic pacemaker installed 12 days ago. I started walking the track slowly at my club 4 days ago and to-day I boosted it up to my regular pace of a 15 min mile. My lungs seemed a little tight after deep breathing. After 15 min at this rate I spent 10 min on a bike and 10 min on an elliptical. After a few min of stretching I went into a steam room and about 2 min later my heart rate shot up to 130 bpm. It took 10 min to get it to slow down again to my normal 60 bpm. Any knowledge-base...

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Half Marathon

I am 60 years old. I started walking and jogging my way through a Half Marathon three years ago.

I just completed my fifth race this weekend. My time was 3.13.18. That was another PR for me.

I was never a runner growing up because I had polio as a child. But now I enjoy the challenge of finishing a race, and my wife and I enjoy doing them together.

I have bradycardia, and I would be interested to hear from other people with bradycardia. What is your experience li...

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pacemaker monitor

I was just implanted with a Boston Scientific CRT-D about 4 weeks ago and every thing is healing very well and I can't wait to increase my exercise levels. I have always been a huge fan of high tech stuff and have always been an active person and those two traits cause me to wonder if anyone has heard whether or not anyone is working on or already produces a heart rate monitor than can read the wireless signal the new pacemakers are emitting. Seems to me you would be hard pressed to find a more...

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You know you're wired when...

You name your daughter “Synchronicity”.

Member Quotes

I am just grateful to God that I lived long enough to have my ICD put in. So many people are not as lucky as us; even though we sometimes don't feel lucky.