OK Sporty Ones now that you have your PM....

Now that you have your PM did your exercise experience improve? Do you feel better when biking/running/skiing/hiking etc.?

Please tell your experience. 


9 Comments

Exercise

by doublehorn48 - 2022-07-28 12:27:40

I can't speak for anyone else but in my case I developed a viral infection which caused my heart rate to fall the more I exerted myself. On a treadmill my heat rate  plunged as I exercised. So, of course, the pacemaker helped. I was able to go back to a physical job and exercise. From your BIO you probably won;t get a dramatic improvement, but if you need a pacemaker then improvement in exercise is not your most important problem. 

Yes, much better...

by crustyg - 2022-07-28 18:17:49

...but it can be very individual. For me, as a lucky one, my heart muscle+coronaries were/are in good shape, and I'd been existing on a junctional rhythm for some time once above about 80BPM.  Having a PM pace my atria to fill the ventricles with more blood made a big difference, one that I can feel during almost any form of exercise (two flights of stairs will do it).  It's not clear when my SA-node really started to go - over 10years my resting HR went from 56BPM through the high 40s, down to about 42BPM at implantation - and I thought it just showed how fit I was!  Dope.  Now, without PM, resting HR is about 28BPM.

I'm not better than I was before my SA-node began to really fail but I'm nearly as good, allowing for some ageing - having a PM doesn't actually make me a Bionic Man - more a $10k man than a Six Million Dollar Man.

PM's not ideal for swimming - not enough input for the Rate Response to be driven properly, but running and road cycling are great.

Yes!

by Julros - 2022-07-28 20:47:39

Most difinitely! Pre-pacer I was in atrial flutter with a ventricular rate of 44. I was able to get it up to 80 on a treadmill test. After an ablation I was left with a heart rate of 30. Now, My heart rate will go up to 155 with running, and my ejection fraction has improved. I jog 3-4 times a week, cycle twice a week, and have lost 40 pounds. 

exercise

by hearty - 2022-07-28 20:49:15

I had skipped heartbeats for 4 years, kept under contol with metoprolol 25 mg 2x till 6months ago after which it just stopped being effective,One skip lasted 4.6 seconds during which my heart basically stopped.. Tests( EKG etc, and Zio monitoring ) showed I had no serious heart problems except a slightly leaky valve, and no blockages. June 30 I got a ST. jUDE MEDICAL pacemaker, Two days later i walked about 200 yards, next day about 400, next day a mile . No skips . Today I walked  5.4 hilly miles, for a total of about 25 miles for the month. I can feel the heart muscle  "squeezing " as if  wants to skip or beat early but the PM just "overrides" : it at its steady 70  b.p.m. It definitely likes exercise ! better than sitting on the couch.Now I'm looking forward to the end of the six week period after which I can start some light  exercise band workout. Next Cardio visit Aug 14, if all well should'nt need another for a year.

No Difference

by Shaun - 2022-07-29 18:48:10

I was an active cyclist right up until the day my problems started, I received my pacemaker the following day and I was an active cyclist again after recovering from the procedure.

much better, yes

by ourswimmer - 2022-07-30 02:55:48

I got a Biotronik device at the end of March. My main sport is swimming and I resumed it only at the beginning of July (three months post-implant) but I feel much better in the water now that my HR will rise to meet effort. It won't go as high as it used to even two years ago, let alone when I was 30, but at least it goes up to where I can work some and I feel safe going out in open water again with friends. I'm looking forward to getting back into shape.

I felt the improvement right away with other activities, like hiking. Also, I hadn't even realized pre-implant how fatigued I was just in general, and how much my fatigue had sapped my motivation to exercise. I sleep a lot better post-device and I have more energy during the day that I want to use to go for walks etc.

Here'shoping

by phadzip - 2022-07-30 15:35:36

I got my second PM last Monday - CRT to hopefully improve my heart failure symptoms. Ran my last marathon 7 years ago - slowest ever, but that's because my issues had already started but hadn't been diagnosed. I've been getting shorter of breath in the past year leading up to this turbo-charged PM. But when I tackled the couple of hills on my mile-long walk 3 days after surgery, I was not short of breath. Now, that's a long way from getting back to running, but I'm cautiously optimistic!

NO

by Skeet - 2022-07-31 11:59:37

There is no way that I would think the pacemaker helped me. One week before I received my first pacemaker I rode 100 miles on my bike in a little over 5 hours. I was 59 years old. Have not done that since. For the previous 30 years my resting pulse was 38-39. I am diabetic and have been most of my life, so I see Dr. every 3 to 4 months. On this visit Dr. had changed from manuel blood pressure measurement to electronic. I don't know now but then the new electronic device would not measure BP unless pulse was over 45. I was out of luck. Before that no one cared If  your BP was ok. My Dr. sent me to cardiologist, if your pulse is below 60 they tell you are going to die if you don't get a pacemaker. A few days later I had a pacemaker set at 70-110. Couldn't sleep because my pulse was 70, and couldn't race bike, which I had done for the past 30 years, because couldn't get pulse over 110. Now I am 74 and can bearly walk around the block. No the pacemaker did not help me. 

Skeet

no more fainting!

by skigrl3 - 2022-07-31 21:37:14

Am I magically more athletic with my pm? No of course not, but I do not get that faint feeling that I used to get when my HR dropped. 8 or so weeks post pm, I was fully back to doing everything and at 13 or so weeks, I feel good. I am a skier and by the time winter rolls around, I am anticipating no issue....time will tell..

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This is my second Christmas with my pacemaker and I am so happy to be with my family.