rate setting

I recently got a pacemaker at age 51. I am starting to run again but noticed thAt when I pick up in intensity I get lightheaded and short of breath. What should the bpm be for an almost athlete?

7 Comments

Settings

by Pandysbuddy - 2013-03-15 05:03:02

What are the settings of your pacemaker? They set mine at 75 for the low and 120 for a high. I am a non-athletic type.
Carol

Your upper tracking rate

by USMC-Pacer - 2013-03-15 08:03:49

Without knowing your reason for having a pacemaker implanted, the 1st thing that comes to mind is the "upper tracking rate" of your pacer. When it reaches that number, it will put you in a 2:1 block. That means that if your atrium is doing 120bpm (and that is your UTR, your ventricles will be dropped to 60bpm)...not a good feeling! I have been through it along with LOTS of others here. You have to get your DR to raise that limit for you if he/she can do so safely. It seems that almost all of us younger athletic types go through this same schedule of visits and tweaking before we get the settings we're happy with. Hang in there, it gets better. And, others will be along with more technical info than I am able to provide. This site is great for that!

Max. Heart Rate

by SMITTY - 2013-03-15 08:03:58


Hello Chef,

Your best, and probably the safest, way to get way to find out what your max heart rate should be is to ask your dr to calculate it for you. In the meantime the equation I use is 220 - my age X .80. With my age being 83 that says the max rate I should look for is 110. With you age being 51 that says your max rate would be 135. I'm sure there are other factors to be considered, so I say check with your dr for your number. If you want to practice your math you can go to this site (http://nowlin.com/heartrate.htm) and see what they say your's should be.

Take care,

Smitty

Rate Response

by ebfox - 2013-03-15 09:03:31

Chef,

You don't tell us the reason for the PM and whether or not you are chronotropically incompetent. Rate Response is a setting in the pacemaker that increases your heartrate during exercise. If you are CI then getting rate response set right will make a huge difference for you. If you aren't CI, then there may be something else going on-

EB

thanks

by chefnanu - 2013-03-15 09:03:35

Thanks for all of the responses. I'm brand new here and it certainly is great too know there are others with the same experiences.
I had an AV node ablation due to constant Afib and am entirely pacemaker dependent. My heart is otherwise perfectly healthy.
Seems like the post from USMC Pacer is on the right track..I reach a certain point in exercise when my pulse actually drops from 120 to 60.

PS:

by Many Blessings - 2013-03-16 02:03:13

Sorry, I forgot to tell you, I'm set at 80 - 150 bpm. This works great for me!

I'm In The Same Boat

by Many Blessings - 2013-03-16 02:03:45

Hi chefnanu,

I too, had an AV Node ablation, and am 100% paced and dependent, just as you. I'm also very active. I'm still in A-fib, though they can now lower and control the rate. I'm sure that's the same with you. I have a bad heart on top of that (cardiomyopathy, heart failure, etc.) but that shouldn't make a difference between you and I in the rate response function, I don't think.

My guess is, it may be your rate response setting(s) that's giving you the trouble. It took a few times to get mine right. The trial and error period with the changes were not fun, but they are finally there. It still isn't perfect, but it's good. I went on my first mountain (foothills) hike in two years, just last weekend! This is something I had to stop doing due to my heart getting worse and worse over the last couple of years, but I am able to do now! :)

I am very active, and do not tolerate the rate response setting that is "best" for most active people. Keep that in mind when getting your settings fixed. Any settings actually. What is supposed to work for most in your situation, may not work for you. Keep trying until the settings work for you. Hopefully, this is what your problem is, as it's pretty easy to fix once they start experimenting.

Good luck getting things fixed. I know it helps to know there are others out here doing well that are 100% paced/dependent with an AV Node ablation, or whatever other issue(s) you have.

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