Electronic Exercise Equipments

I would like to hear more about electronic exercise equipments and its interferance with ICDs and PMs.

I would like to know if the heart rate sensors on equipments such as treadmill and cross trainers safe to be held while it's taking the heart rate reading?

Are equipments such as heart rate monitors worn below the chest muscle safe to use?

Thanks
CaptainN

4 Comments

Monitors

by ElectricFrank - 2009-12-08 02:12:45

Most monitors are no problem. I have heard warnings about the kind that use a chest device that wirelessly sends the reading to a wrist readout. The concern is that the antenna is right over the pacer leads. I've deliberately held various wireless devices over my chest just to check it out and had no problem. I mentioned it to the Medtronic rep and he wasn't concerned either.

The main issue with HR monitors in general is that the pacemaker creates an unusual ECG pattern that some monitors have trouble reading. The usual result is a reading that is twice the actual HR, or in rare cases half. This only happens with the kind of monitor that uses chest electrodes. The type that use light and work on the finger tip or ear lobe aren't affected by the pacer.

frank

safe but useless

by Tracey_E - 2009-12-08 06:12:02

My experience with the sensors on gym equipment is exactly what Frank described. They don't give me any problems whatsoever, but they don't work either! I've tried every brand out there of monitor that you wear with the chest strap and they all tell me I have no hr. It depends on your pm, some members use them and like them. Most of us find their count is either too high (picks up pm spikes as beats) or too low (pm interferes with its signal and misses beats). I would suggest asking to try it before leaving the store with it.

I use a Polar almost daily

by COBradyBunch - 2009-12-11 01:12:51

I use a Polar HRM almost daily without any issues. I have on rare occasions gotten weird readings but nothing that I hadn't seen pre-op. I pace rarely so I don't know if it ever has kicked in when I was pacing (I doubt it since my issue is a brady issue) but it hasn't caused the pm any issues I know of and my cardio doc actually says he loves it that I use one to monitor the intensity of my workouts.

Monitors...tested

by CaptainNimmo - 2010-01-24 09:01:33

Hi all,

Just an update with regard to chest strap HR monitors. I tried several models of the Polar monitors and found they did not work well with my ICD (Medtronic Virtuoso). The readings were erratic.

Hope this helps....for those considering getting a HR monitor. I am curious to find out if the GPS HR monitors work differently?

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