are you able to lift weights with a pacemaker?

Question

I have just recieved a pacemaker and i used to be a active weight lifter, and im itching to start again. If anybody knows, do you know how much weight is a acceptable?

i have just recieved a pacemaker and i used to be a active weight lifter, and im itching to start again. If anybody knows, do you know how much weight is a acceptable? i did consult my doctor many times on this subject but he says that he is not quite to sure because it is different circumstances for each individual, so please if anybody lifts weights or has a pacemaker please help me out.

Answer 1

Since you were an active weight lifter, most probably the cause of your receiving a pace maker was the thickening up of the heart muscles causing the electrical impulses through your heart muscles go slow or cause an axis deviation or a bundle branch block. Now be careful to use weights. Start from 1/4th and slowly move up to half of what you did but then stop any further increments. Ideally your heart beats should be checked, like it is done on a treadmill, while you are at lifting weights or doing anaerobic exercise. This can be done at any advanced Sports Medicine centre. However, be careful not to bring the steel too close to your heart otherwise your pacemaker may go wonky. The next thing that you have to remember is to train at a place where advanced life support systems are in place and someone should always be around you.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Your doctor is right...there is no magic number or cutoff that applies universally to all people. The best advice is to go slowly, and start light.
It may depend on how much weight and how vigorously you lift it. If you were once a power lifter, you may not be advised to do that amount of weight anymore. Also, if you begin lifting weights of any kind too quickly, you run the risk of dislodging the leads, or "wires" that connect the pacemaker to the heart. Some leads are actually screwed in the the heart muscle, and some are not.
Keep in mind, too, that the suture site on the chest needs time to heal. This area of tissue will be weaker for up to year, and the more stress on the area, the more likely you will have a larger, more visible scar.
As always, keep in touch with your cardiologist as you begin any new regimen.

Answer 3

Just how just received do you mean? If you are within your recovery period, then what you are doing is stupid at best, costly at worst. It can take 4 to 8 weeks depending on the type to heal so that you can't pull the leads out of the heart and require a new surgery. Repetitive motions are typically the largest cause of the wires being pulled out of place.

I suggest calling the doctor or pacemaker clinic if there is one and ask lots of questions. I have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. I suffered muscle problems from being too inactive during my first 7 weeks after surgery rather than risk redoing the surgery. After the doctor gave me the OK it took me two weeks to be able to lift my left arm almost straight up. My weight restriction was 10 to 15 pounds. I'm allowed to do almost anything now.

Stay at a small safe non vigorous movements during the recovery period. After that it is almost impossible to pull the leads off of the heart. Anything that would would also cause your muscles injury after the scar tissue has fully covered the leads attached to your heart.

Answer 4

The short answer is yes, the pacemaker itself does interfere with weightlifting. Anyway, if you have a heart condition I would recommend you to have an extra check with your doctor before you start weightlifting, just to be sure.

Answer 5

Please go back to your doctor, and only follow the doctor's advice.

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