PM settings on tread mill

Has anybody in the Uk had their PM set up properly on a treadmill ? If so where was it done and did it prove successful?
I seem to be banging my head against a wall in trying to get this done on the NHS.
If any of you guys in the states could say what I should expect as I want to exercise ( It takes a big effort to get my HR up to 90BPM) as I feel ok but just think something is not correct .
I`ve always been fit and active .
My device was fitted after valve surgery as I had a slow HB but it`s always been about 50 all my sporting life (now 64)
Thanks.........

2 Comments

Treadmill test

by golden_snitch - 2014-08-13 04:08:22

Hi!

We don't usually get treadmill tests in Germany, either, we get bicycle ergometries. My cardio says that in the U.S. the treadmill test is very popular, but in Europe more bicycle ergometries are done because they cause less artefacts in the ECGs. Look at an ECG taken while someone was running and compare it to one when the patient was sitting on a bike, and you will understand what he means.

My cardio doesn't have a treadmill, only a stationary bicycle. If I want to get a treadmill test done, I have to ask at the Heart Centre (clinic) I'm being seen at. Or I can make an appointment with a sport medicine specialist and get a performance diagnostic, but this is not covered by insurance. Cost is about 120 Euro. The sport medicine specialists here usually offer different tests (stationary bike, treadmill, rowing machine) depending on your type of exercise.

If you cannot get your heart rate any higher than 90bpm, you might need the pacemaker's rate response feature switched on. For a heart block you normally do not need the rate response on, because the sinus node is still functioning and dictating the heart rate. But it could be that your sinus node is now slowing down, too, and that this is the reason why you cannot bring your heart rate up to more than 90bpm. The rate response feature can take care of that. It might need some fine tuning until it works well for you, but it should help to improve your situation.

If there is no way to get a treadmill test done, maybe ask for a 24 hours holter monitor, and then go running while you are wearing it. It might not be easy to read, but should at least give you and your doctor an idea of what's happening when you are running.

Good luck!
Inga

Treadmill Test on the NHS

by IAN MC - 2014-08-13 07:08:56

Hello mg I am in the UK and have had several treadmill tests done as an NHS patient. Because these tests are fairly labour-intensive and can take up lots of time in a busy clinic they don't offer them unless there is a high likelihood that they will be helpful.

The secret of getting them done seems to depend on :-

- building up good relationships with your GP, your cardiologist and your PM technicians

- building up knowledge of , and measuring your symptoms yourself wherever possible and then demanding a treadmill test

. If you appear to be very knowledgeable they are far more likely to accept your suggestions. I showed them data ( from my Polar HR monitor ) that I recorded of my bizarre HR behaviour while running

On one occasion my GP, at my suggestion , rung the cardiologist while I was there and asked for the treadmill test. On other occasions the PM techs have been the decision makers again at my suggestion.

Having said all of that, I was unable to reproduce the symptoms that were concerning me whilst on the treadmill and my problems were solved by wearing a Holter as Inga suggests and by trial and error with the PM adjustments.

I ran far further while wearing the Holter than would have been possible on the hospital treadmill. The main drawback of the treadmill test is that it is a very brief snapshot of your heart performance during exercise.

Like you ,when running I had difficult getting above 90 bpm( but annoyingly this didn't happen on the treadmill, I have Sick Sinus Syndrome which seems to be intermittent ! ) Several adjustments of the Rate Response feature were done before the problem was solved.

Best of luck

Ian

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