irregular beat

I'm an avid 49 year oldmountain biker training for a 100 mile mountain bike race at altitude. I have a demand pacemaker(Aug 08) that is set to activate should my heartrate decrease below 50 bpm. After exercise my heart rate is very irregular. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

4 Comments

response

by derickboy9 - 2009-03-15 05:03:13

Thanks for the comments. I had the PM because of brady episodes- Hr would drop into the 20's after exercise.

diagnosis

by Tracey_E - 2009-03-15 06:03:36

Why did you get the pm? A pm can speed up a slow rate and fill in missing beats but it can't fix pvc's and svt's. Have you had a stress test so they can watch what happens when you work out? That can help them pinpoint what's going on and see if it's anything they can regulate with pm settings.

get checked

by Tracey_E - 2009-03-15 07:03:27

the pm will make sure you don't get that low but making your heart beat faster doesn't make it regular. If you ask to be checked, they may be able to see what is happening and tweak some of your settings to get you more regular.

I get svt's when I exercise, nothing they can do about it because my atrial rate shoots up higher than the pm maximum setting. It's annoying but harmless. Not working out isn't an option so I live with it.

Something Similar

by Bionic Man - 2009-03-15 08:03:17

I had a pacemaker for about three months and noticed I was beginning to feel rapid and irregular beats. My Dr gave me a stress test and if not for the pacemaker I would have passed out. I had a slight cardiomyopathy. It would come on when I exerted myself. My blood pressure would drop and my heart became irregular. I was aslo having PVC's. It was a miserable feeling. Fortunately after a couple of PM adjustments and new meds I feel much better. I work out daily and haven't had any problems. If I were you I'd have it looked into.
Good Luck with the race.

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Member Quotes

The pacer systems are really very reliable. The main problem is the incompetent programming of them. If yours is working well for you, get on with life and enjoy it. You probably are more at risk of problems with a valve job than the pacer.