revds

I had a pacemaker put in a while back. I am getting back into road cycling after several months of rest. It's not going well. I am having trouble doing distances and long stretches with hills. So I went into my local pacemaker clinic for advice. The technician said my days of cycling distances and doing hills are pretty well over because the upper body doesn't move much when you cycle. The technician recommended I switch from cycling to walking or jogging where the upper body movement will cause the pacemaker to up the beats. This is tough to swallow for a serious cyclist. Can anyone advise ?

pdlamb

OK, I'll bite and give medical advice over the web:

Get a second opinion, preferably from a cardiologist who exercises.

Dudelsack 

You might check this site out: drjohnm.org. The doc is an electro physiologist and an avid cyclist. You might find some answers.

ModeratedUser150120149

+1

(Personal experience is that most medical people are couch potatoes, or nearly so, and give lousy advice to active or athletic people. Find a qualified person who is also an athlete and you are much more likely to get good, pertinent advice.)

JCNeumann

Step 1 - find another pacemaker clinic.

Step 2 - Talk to a doctor. Not a tech. This is not something to screw around with, and I would be very leery of any place where technicians are giving advice like that. That kind of information should only be coming from someone who has RN, NP, or MD next to their name.

Tell him him what your goals are, and what parameters you should use for exercise. And then get a second opinion - ideally both should be from cardiologists who treat athletes.

Apologies for being so blunt, but as someone who's had heart surgery I a bit rabid on the subject.