Heart rate

My ICD is set to deliver “therapy” (don’t you love that term) at 195 bpm. Well I have to run for work, when I do run I wear a Polar heart monitor to keep track of my heart rate. My question is while Im running if my heart rate hits 195 will I get zapped? The nurse told me I have 2, I guess fail safe features to protect against un-needed therapy. If my heart gradually rises and is steady I should be safe. Its not that I don’t believe her, I just would like to know if anyone has heard of this or surpassed their “magic number”? I would hate to find out by trial and error. I just hate running so slow. Any info would be great.
Billy

5 Comments

settings...

by turboz24 - 2008-01-23 08:01:27

I'm not sure how yours is set, but mine is this..

My ICD is set to monitor my heart once I Exceed 180 bpm. IT then checks for the arrythmia, if it sees it, it will then attempt to control the arrythmia. If I ever exceed 220 bpm, it will automatically attempt to shock me full out (31 joules) to lower my rate. They usually set these rates higher than you will ever see normally. Everytime I have been shocked, it's because I'm in Vtach. I workout with heavy weights 5 days a week, and bike weekends. I only get to around 140-160 (depended on my med levels) max and that's usually while weight lifting.

Envious

by gevans - 2008-01-23 11:01:47

Wow, you two guys make me envious (being able to get your heart rate up that high just because you love to "push the envelope"). Enjoy that feeling (not the "shocking" part) because as you get older your max HR gets lower (or it is more difficult push through the lactic acid barriers that you once savored). Also, some of us are on beta blockers, blood thinners, etc, that tend to suppress adrenaline and epinephren that allows you to attain that "endorphin high" anymore.

I guess that is why I've gravitated to training for ultra events (where it's more mental than physical). But I sure enjoy hearing how you are doing. Keep us posted and...

Keep savoring life (or is that lifestyle?),

Gary

meds..

by turboz24 - 2008-01-24 09:01:15

I'm on 40 mg sotalol at 10 am, 40 mg at 4 pm, and 120 mg at 10 pm.

My Vtachs used to reach the high 200's (my highest was 285 bpm) and it wasn't all the pleasant. I have not passed out during any vtach.

rate

by thomast - 2008-01-24 12:01:05

Boy you guys have some fast heartbeats. Mine is set to start monitoring at 130 bpm, if it detects arrythmia it tries 6 times to step me out of it, if that fails it does nothing, just waits unless it exceeds 150 bpm, then it shocks me. I have had a couple of episodes where it tried 6 times then the episodes ended in about a minute without exceeding 150, so no shock.

set max rate point

by janusz - 2008-01-26 06:01:58

I found pacemaker club today -- looking for answers to the very same kind of question.

PM: Medtronics Adapta ADDR01.

I am 65, so using the formula, (220-age) x .9 = max exercise heart rate, my max rate is 140. I had my pm implanted last March. I saw my cardiologist for the first time since Thursday!!!! (After repeated calls I was told that we'll let you know when you have an appt. Getting infomation out of this Dr is like dynamiting granite. Now looking for another cardiologist, but that's another story.)

During the visit I mentioned that I had lost over 70lbs and was now doing interval runs/sprints to get heart rate up fast and enjoyed it. I mentioned that on some days it will bet up to 150-155 without any difficulty even though I am on beta-blocker. The reason for the pm is to keep the heart rate from dropping below 60 (bradycardia). He told me that my pm is set max of 130!!! I was astonished and said that I wore heart monitor and it showed steady increase above 130 as I exercised and even slow decrease during cool-down. He said the the pacing signal may be interfering with the readings and insisted that my heart rate will not exceed 130. He then proceeded to fine tune the pm to reduce battery consumption or so he said.

Confused I contacted my primary physician and he has asked for full copies of all records because he was only given summary and also thought the pm was to prevent heart rate from dropping below 60 - only. So, I hope to have better info next week.

Today, I did a test. I did not do a full run but something between a jog and run -- a trot. After warmup, when the heart rate monitor showed 140, I stopped and did manual pulse check and it was within 2-3 beats. I did this twice and am convinced that my monitor is recording the heart rate accurately without any kind of interference signal.

Someone mention that their pm will "shock" if heart beat is abnormal above a set point. I don't know if this $65,000 computer without monitor and keyboard has this feature. :-) This was never mentioned (as most of this) by the dr.


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