Mountain bike

Are there any mountain bike riders here? I just got my pace maker 1 week ago.I ride my bike 3 to 4 times a weed and my concern is, will the constant bouncing and body movement affect the pacing of the PM? I think I read on here a while back that it might make it pace faster when its not needed. If it does how will that affect me?
The pacer is a medtronic RVDR01. Its for bradycardia with no other medical problems.
Jack Coul

6 Comments

Jack

by IAN MC - 2012-08-09 03:08:19

I have just re-read your post; Tattoo Man gives good advice . One week after PM installation is too soon to do serious mountain biking

Cheers

Ian

Bike and Bounce

by IAN MC - 2012-08-09 03:08:21

Hello Jack Bouncing and body movement will only affect the pacing of your PM if the Rate Response feature is turned on. RR increases your heart rate in relation to motion which the sensors detect .

There have been postings from cyclists recently who have had differing experiences, some have found the PM increases their heart rate on downhill stretches, some on uphill. But if you are doing serious mountain biking you will be getting enough bouncing and vibration to trigger off RR a lot of the time.

If you do have RR turned on and it is becoming a problem, there are fine settings which may help; you can alter the sensitivity of the RR settings to match your activity levels.

But settings are not as sophisticated as we would like; you may end up with a trade-off to give you an optimum RR to accommodate most of your lifestyle requirements.

If your RR is turned off, ignore everything I have said and enjoy that bouncing !

Best of luck

Ian

Hi Jack...........

by Tattoo Man - 2012-08-09 03:08:30

...............I would leave it a little longer. If you were on a road bike you might be less at risk because of the smoother ride, however the riding position..ie, neck up.might put a strain in your shoulder area.

When you are keen on sport its tough to do the right thing. You might like to think of another endurance activity that doesnt involve a lot of bouncing around. Something like off-road hiking, as in 10-20 miles might give you the out doors that you doubtless love..make you tired, that you would miss and perhaps most of all allow you to see terrains that are familiar from a new perspective.
At one week in your priority is to make sure that your PM has a decent chance to 'bed in' and have a good chance of delivering all the sport you could wish for in the future.

Me,..I'd stay off the mountain bike for a month.

I'm sure you'll get further views on this one.

And yes, I mountain bike as well

Jack...

by Tattoo Man - 2012-08-10 05:08:42

...we aint no experts, but, just might make a bit of a difference.

Get out into the Great Outdoors ..breathe in fresh air..smell the wet earth.

This is what our forebears did as they emerged from their caves.

Go a bit feral..you know you want to !!!

Being outdoors offers so many opportunities to explore / enjoy this fabulous world that we find ourselves in ..

Tattoo Man

Thanks for feedback

by Jackcouo - 2012-08-10 12:08:47

Thanks every one for the feed back, I do appreciate it. I do plan on staying off the mountain bike for at least 2 months as my cardio doc recommended. I'm using my stationary bike right now(a recumbent, so no strain on the shoulders) then maybe the road bike after the first month if my doctor approves. I don't want to take a chance of dislodging the the wires. I will ask about the RR, maybe I should start out with it off and see how that works. I'm paced for bradycardia so maybe the pacer wont affect the high range and my heart will beat normally, is that the way if works???

I really don't want to give up the mountain bike Tattoo Man as it is my passion. I love the speed and the challenge, pretty hard to get that on a hike, as you know.

Jack

Jack

by Cahardesty - 2012-08-11 12:08:57

I also got a PM a week ago (8-1-12) and I live in Austin, TX where I have been Mountanbiking for 20+ yrs. I have had 3 Heart Attacks (genetics) but it never stopped me from riding or racing. However, four months ago I started having different problems (arrhythmias) and do to a natural low resting heart rate (38) from cycling all my life, I needed a PM in order to take Sotalol to help reduce or prevent the ventricle arrhythmias I was having. I don't know how it's going to work out, but the one thing that I wanted to know was that hopefully it would not retire me from riding. My Doctors stateded that I should be able to return to my riding and other outdoor activities, once I do my job and that's to do everything that is required for the PM and Leads to set in (about 8 -12 weeks). So I plan on doing exactly as told which is to rest the arm and side of the implant and wear a sling as much as possible to help remind me that I'm not Ok (2 weeks). Then I start cardiac rehab for 8 weeks, which will be great for me and my Docters. I get to workout while being monitored constantly and the workouts includes both aerobic and strength training. I'm 49 years of age and this is the perfect way for me to train so I can ride like I use to a year ago, but with the benefit of being safe and smart. The last thing you or anyone else's that's active, is to get too eager and dislodge a lead.

I will still take it easy for at least 6 months once I get back on the trails, just so that I get back into the groves of things and I won't take the hard technical sections anymore. If you do, I'd strongly recommend wearing shoulder gear under your jersey to help distribute any forces from a fall or hitting an object like a tree.

If your PM is for Bradi only, the you should not be paced above you minimum rate. I have a biotronik DR-T and it is set at 60 bpm with no upper settings.

Good luck and be safe.

Cliff

You know you're wired when...

You make store alarms beep.

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I have a well tuned pacer. I hardly know I have it. I am 76 year old, hike and camp alone in the desert. I have more energy than I have had in a long time. The only problem is my wife wants to have a knob installed so she can turn the pacer down.