To make a long story short I was having issues with fainting once every year or two and after the last go around I was finally diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope, and had a pace maker put in about 6 weeks ago. I have been released by my doctor and told I could go about my normal life. When I asked him if it was ok to wear a heart rate monitor to train with he gave me a very non commital answer. All he said was that he was not aware of any data of a heart rate monitor affecting a pace maker.
I was wondering if any of you out there have ever heard of any issues or problems with a pace maker caused from a heart rate monitor? Just to clarify I am not depending on my pace maker to keep my heart beating. It is a demand pace maker that only paces when my heart falls below a certain heart rate. They expect it pace less than .1% of time. I regulary train with a Garmin 305 when running and riding.
I routinely use my HRM and have a pacemaker for basically the same reason-I also have an underlying arrhythmia but only use my pacemaker less than 5%of the time.
My training has not changed in respect to what I do. I do try to keep from being kicked in the chest when I swim.
I have been using my HRM for 11 years now with a pacemaker, not one single issue. In fact with the new ones(pacemakers) there really is not much that can affect them anymore. Probably about the only thing you have to stay away from is magnets i’m guessing. Old days you could not be near microwave ovens, cell phones, ect. Now it is just the MRI room and don’t carry any speakers next to your chest. My doc told me that in the next couple years they will also be MRI proof too, only problem will be your old wires. You will have to remove them and have the new ones installed, which is the real tricky part…
Had my pacemaker 13 years, for the same reason. Have used 3 different HRM’s with no problems
I got an infection and had my leads removed in July of 2010, try to avoid that, lots of things can go wrong with that procedure. I had surgery in February and another scheduled for April 24th to fix what got messed up in 2010.
One thing I do stay away from is any of the newer scales that measure body fat. Anything that would send current through your body.
I considered doing one of those tough muddier races this year but worried about the section with the electrical wires.
Ask for a copy of your settings when they do them next,that way if anything does happen they can easily restore your settings,even if you are out of town.
And since this is all new to you, i would suggest you do a search here, as there have been a ton of threads about pacemakers and heart issues. I know i have written a small book on the issue here in the past, you might be interested now that you have joined the club…