Cycling. movement and PM reaction

Hi there,

I am one month post PM insertion.  Female 57 years, active exerciser, cyclist, hiker and multiple sports player. I had unexpected bradycardia in January that had me down to 32 bpm at rest.  I struggled to get my HR over 70 under exertion. Climbing stairs had me winded and light-headed.

I have been cycling indoors (low impact, no hills) to get back into cycling shape before I head outdoors.  My PM settings are 50 - 130 bpm. Recovery has been going well until yesterday when my PM pulled my HR back from 138 bpm to 60 bpm. Very strange, until I remembered being told by the technician at my latest visit that when cycling, its important to move the upper body from time to time when cycling.  Reason?  PM doesnt sense exercise when you are sitting still on an indoor bike and thinks the heart is going into Afib when HR goes into the upper limits.

Has anyone else experienced this? I got back on the bike today and made sure to move my upper body every now and then and I had no issues getting my HR up into low 140s and kept it there.  No reaction from the PM. 

Thanks! 

5 Comments

Pacer Updates

by Stache - 2024-04-04 13:50:46

I am similar to you 100% paced avid bicycle rider.  My pacer is set at 60 to 130 bpm, a year ago Abbot upgraded my pacer software and made several adjustments to speed my pacer up sooner as I ride a lot and hard.  Not an issue at all on the bike seems I can ride all day and not get tired now.  I have cut my long-distance rides back from 100 kilos to around 30 to 50.  As I am Bluetooth with my pacer the hospital can track me on my bike and knows when I ride.  I have had my pacer 3 years now first year was difficult getting healed up and getting used to the 100% paced.  What I can tell you is riding the bike is the best at least for me all the other extreme sports I had to give up like scuba diving, windsurfing, etc.

question for your technician

by Tracey_E - 2024-04-04 15:58:51

If you had your rate up to 138, I would make the argument that you had plenty of movement to get rate response to do its thing. Ask if there is a safety feature for afib turned on, and if it is can they turn it off. If we bump our upper limit (going to hazard a guess that yours is 140), the pacer thinks we are in afib and puts us in an artificial 2:1 block,instantly dropping our rate in half. This is great if we are racing due to afib. If we are simply working out, it's like hitting a wall. If we have no history of afib,it can be turned off. That's always my first thought when we have a sudden drop of half.

Stache, check with your manufacturer. Most pacers are good for recreational diving. 

Pacer Updates

by KHammond - 2024-04-07 09:28:09

I had my Medtronic PM adjusted to an upper limit of 150 BPM (from 130) so that I wouldn't hit that limit during exercise or have the PM think I was in AFIB.  Also had it switched from DDD ( I think) to VVI so it would ramp up quicker and respond better to exertion.  The new settings seem to work just fine and I can exercise without problems.

KH    

Thanks for advice

by Tamatuma - 2024-04-12 11:24:42

Thanks for your responses.  At my first visit 4 weeks afters surgery, I pushed hard for my upper limit to be bumped up to 140 bpm.  No go.  Too early and I needed to live with it for a few months.  I go back in October for my next check-in and I'll continue to push for at least 140 bpm and the other suggestions made above.  This is so frustrating because I know my limits and these settings are preventing me from exercising the way I used to.

T

PM picking up exertion

by Evan1510 - 2024-04-14 06:18:05

I had similar issues and adjustments to the settings - they then told me the unit would kick in after it sensed exertion because of the nature of cycling it doesnt pick up if you are still upper body when you ride. They told me to breath really deeply to kick the unit in when i start riding - which I found helps

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