My old man (70) is a very keen off cyclist. Rides with the best of them and can easily do 30+ miles rides.

Recently he’s been complaining of feeing very tired in the extremeties and feeling out of breath. He had this before and it was viral and went away.

Today, he went to the docs and had a ECG. The pissy news is that “control node” or something like that is not working and is keeping the heart rate at 30bpm 🙁 he’s normally 60 resting. He has just been taken off in an ambulance to Southmead, Bristol.

The likely hood is that a pacemaker is on the cards 🙁 He’s never going to give up cycling (in he can help it).

Any advice from people here with a pacemaker or know of cycling buddies that have a pacemaker and how they live with it or what to look out for?.

Any advice greatly received.

RT

Talk to a doctor

He will, I’m sure.

Just trying to get some knowledge in advance.

Can I go back to my normal activities after my implant?

There are very few activities that will be off limits to you because you have a pacemaker. Your doctor may ask you to avoid strenuous activity (especially upper body activity) just after surgery. Doing so helps ensure your lead(s) has time to firmly attach to your heart tissue. After that, you will probably be able to do all of the things you did before your implant. Talk with your doctor if you have any concerns about physical activity.

http://www.bostonscientific.com/templatedata/imports/HTML/lifebeatonline/summer2005/living.shtml

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/arrhythmias/a/pacemakers.htm

And dont go near microwaves (learned that from a very trusted source.. (simpsons..))

@realman

Thanks for the info. Off for a long read.

**Microwave Noted… very good source.

Dave Moore of Cheddar Challenge fame rides with a pacemaker. It hasn’t stopped him. He’s done the Roc d’Azur with it.