Hot tubs and pacemakers

Joe

by IAN MC - 2018-02-06 13:01:21

Once your incision is healed there is no good reason to avoid sitting in a tub of hot water BUT if your pacemaker " Rate Response" setting is switched on you may find that your heart rate shoots up if powerful jets go anywhere near the pacemaker site.

This is because your PM has a sensor which detects the vibration from the jets and assumes that you must  be exercising . It then sends up your heart rate to help you cope better with the perceived exercise,

I have experienced this in a hotel hot tub which had quite aggressive jets and it was quite an uncomfortable feeling . It is not life-threatening because there is a maximum heartrate which the sensor will take your heart up to .... but it is not a good feeling.

There is only one way to find out , try it and see if it feels OK

Ian

hot tubs

by ROBO Pop - 2018-02-06 15:27:08

I've had a defibrillator for 11 years and am 100% paced in both ventricles. Hot tubs can cause death. I've found with hot tubs when your partner catches you in one with a strange woman death usually results rather quickly.

Sounds as if your doctor is a little on the cautious side. Try it but make sure you do so with a friend. Scratch that do so with your partner

ROBO Pop

by IAN MC - 2018-02-06 15:53:35

You are obviously referring to a personal experience.  Did you find that sharing a hot tub with a  strange woman raised your heart rate even higher than that caused by the pressure jets ?

Was it an additive effect ?  I must do some research . Are there any strange women out there ?

Ian

strange...

by ROBO Pop - 2018-02-06 17:16:53

Yes Ian, hot tubbing with a stranger raised my heart rate ... as well as some other things, however use caution, you should only attempt this if you have a Defibrillator with a fresh battery (some partners are persistent).