Interference from riding in a van

This might sound strange, but this has happened a couple of times. When riding in a van to the airport....and sitting in the rear seats of the van, my heart rate seems to increase as the van moves....not when riding in the front seats. What could this be?

3 Comments

A couple of things

by Theknotguy - 2015-03-17 09:03:22

You don't say in your bio what kind of PM you have. That could be a determination in what is happening.

I have a Medtronic PM with an accelerometer in it. Depending upon what I am doing, if I activate the accelerometer in the PM it will kick up my heart rate.

I've answered a couple of posts where I grabbed a sawzall saw and the vibration started the accelerometer and kicked off my heart rate.

While on vacation, we were riding in a large bus. Depending upon where I was sitting in the bus it would start my accelerometer and kick up my heart rate. Moved to a different seat, problem solved.

You may just have to change seats in the van.

Accelerometer

by golden_snitch - 2015-03-18 02:03:11

As Theknotguy said, if activated, the motion sensor (accelerometer) in a pacemaker sometimes reacts to riding in a car or bus, especially when the road is a bit bumpy. I have had that with public transport busses, too, when I had this type of sensor. If it bothers you too much, you can have it re-programmed to react less sensitively, but that will also affect how it responds to real physical exercise; the response you get then might not be sufficient. Or have it switched off, if you don't need the rate response. Depends on your diagnosis. Heart block patients usually do not need the rate response sensor activated.

interference from riding in a van

by DMW - 2015-03-18 07:03:59

Thank you for your responses. I have a Medtronic revo sure scan pacemaker implanted in Dec,2011. I don't know about an accelometer....but I will check with Medtronic.Do all pacemakers have an accelometer?

You know you're wired when...

You read consumer reports before upgrading to a new model.

Member Quotes

I am no expert, but I believe that without the defibrillator that I have, I would be dead.