exercise

I saw my St Jude rep this morning and asked him again about exercises that might hurt the leads. My dr has never given me any restrictions but based on what I've read here I have not tried pull ups or other exercises that involve hanging. My rep's exact words were it would take a bulldozer to pull out a lead, exercise is not going to damage it, do whatever I want. The scar tissue may get aggravated so I may end up not doing it, but it's safe to try. Yay!!!!

11 Comments

That's Wonderful!

by ABelle - 2011-05-11 01:05:15

That's reassuring, Tracey!! Thanks!!! Now that I'm getting closer to the year mark I'm ready to start trying out some more active stuff. I love when you post things about staying fit! It always makes me feel motivated!
Hope you're doing well!
Anna

Exercise

by mike thurston - 2011-05-11 04:05:22

From the day I got my ICD/PM (4 years on May15th) I have worried over this issue. I rock climb, mountain bike, weight lift and do lots of aerobics and so far so good. I am a big guy at 5'10" and 230lbs. but pretty solid - still I don't do pull ups even though climbing involves a lot of pulling up. Also I usually avoid bench presses and military shoulder presses. I have done them occasionally but I don't see much value for that type of strength at this point in my life so I tend to avoid them. During the periods where I have done them I worked up to like 150lbs on military presses and maybe a 180 lb. 1 lift max. on the bench. Still the nthought of inappropriate theraphy and being 100% dependent with no escape rhythmn does cause me some stress. But like I teach new climbers who say they are afraid of heights - it is o.k. to be afraid but it is not o.k. to let that fear stop you. I have never had an issue with scar tissue although that area gets a little sore on occassion but nothing too bothersome.

Hi Tracey!

by Hot Heart - 2011-05-11 04:05:25

I love the gym but i've managed 58 years without doing pull ups, so might give them a miss lol xxxxx

Great news for those who do mountaineering though!

HHx

scar tissue

by Tracey_E - 2011-05-11 04:05:34

Mike, my scar tissue issues are not common! I've had 4 replacements now, I have leads put in from 2 different places, and the whole thing was buried behind the breast by a plastic surgeon. My chest xray resembles a bowl of spaghetti :)

HH, I've never done one either but I want to try! The gym I go to has a way of teaching it that even the wimpiest girly girls end up doing them. I wanna do it too!!! That's the only thing everyone else does that I have not.

Tracey

by Creaky - 2011-05-11 11:05:18

That's good news Tracey. The only comment I'll make is that after a few months, it probably isn't pulling out a lead that worries docs, but flexing of the leads causing a breakage. I had this discussion with my EP nurses today. They said most all exercises are OK but to avoid machines because the repetitive motion in the same plane over and over could damage a lead. They said free weights and anything cardio is OK. Keep up the good work.

Harry

Another perspective

by podpm - 2011-05-12 01:05:35

I'm an avid exerciser too. My EP recommends limi weightlifting exercises to those don't involve the arms over the head (e.g. military press, lat pulls). All others are fine. Trying to avoid lead damage and lead extraction.

damaging leads

by Tracey_E - 2011-05-12 06:05:43

My cardio, ep and and rep have all told me the leads will not get damaged from working out. Unless your leads are in at a tight angle, or just under the collarbone where they'll get pinched, they'll be fine. The leads are not usually put in tight- they are too long so they thread them in the vein then coil the excess behind the device so you have plenty of slack. They're thin and flexible and meant to give.

I'm not suggesting you ignore your dr and we're all different so do what you feel is right, but I do lat pulls, military presses, push ups (hand stand push ups yesterday!), thrusters, clean/jerks and don't worry about it. I'm not new to this, I got my first pm in 1993 and have worked out regularly and vigorously since 6 weeks after the first surgery. And now I'm going to try to learn to do a pull up :o) I trust my rep, he's been there for all of my surgeries so he knows how my leads are put in, he's had hundreds of patients he's seen long term like me, he's always gone the extra mile to make sure I feel great and can exercise as much as I want ... if he tells me it's ok, I'm going to trust him that it's ok.

Petite person dilema :(

by vjones62 - 2011-05-16 11:05:25

I have had my pace maker for bradycardia for 7 years - no issues whatsoever - feel great. However, due to my lack of height (only 5' tall) my pacemaker sits very close to the clavicle. Because of this (and only this), I have limited lifting weight of any significance above my head. There is hardly any space between the top of the PM and the clavicle - certainly do not want to test the quality of the insulation around the wires. I exercise but limit that flexed motion - period. If I had another 1/2 inch between the leads and the clavicle, I would relax and lift/pull away.

fractures can occur without weight lifting

by fredzkx - 2011-05-26 03:05:43

My first pacemaker was implanted in 2005 due to total AV block. In the Fall of 2010 the ventriclar lead fractured and it had to be replaced. Then earlier this week, the atrial lead fractured! In both cases, they believe the fractures occurred below the clavicle from the repetitive motion of swimming. This is quite discouraging because I love swimming and it is my main form of exercise. So, at this point, I am trying to decide what to do ... I have a month to decide because of the restrictions for lead implants. What do you think?

fred

by Tracey_E - 2011-05-26 06:05:23

What a pain! Are they extracting and starting new or is there room to add one more? If you have to have the lead replaced, talk to them about where they're putting the new one. I'd ask if they could move it lower so swimming would not be a problem.

Any advice?

by mebjeff - 2011-06-10 10:06:22

Man, am I glad I found this site! I have been a PM patient for over 30 years (got the first one at 8 years old!) and I have struggled on and off with this issue. My current doc says all cardio exercises are good but not to lift more than 25 lbs. with any exercise that's going to flex my shoulder. Umm, that's like ALL upper body exercises!!! I have been looking for some advice on kinds of low impact, high rep things I could do it keep my upper body in shape. Sadly, it has been neglected for years! Any advice?

Thanks!
Jeff

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So, my advice is to go about your daily routine and forget that you have a pacemaker implanted in your body.