Riders with a Pace Maker?

[singletracker]

At the ripe old age of 47 I'm going to be fitted with a new shiny pace maker. I'm not over weight, never had high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Just the luck of the draw.

I haven't rode in over 2 years for various reasons, but I won the Senior B District 17 enduro championship in 2012. I still want to ride if my heart gets strong enough again, but racing may be too big of a risk.

Is there anyone out there you know of still riding after getting a pace maker?

[GasGas]

I raced motocross with a guy that had a pace maker. He was plenty fast too.

[mcnut]

I have a good friend close to your age who is pace maker-dependent, meaning he will die if it quits. He is an AA-caliber rider and we even rode 7 days in CO this summer. That'll get your heart pumping! His is set to 140bpm maximum. I also have a friend that had a heart attack while we were riding. We recognized the signs and got him to an ambulance. Luckily we were close to a state highway when it happened.
I'm 56 & know CPR.

[singletracker]

Awesome! Do either of these guys have a concern about the leads coming loose or breaking?

[Jgracey]

Pacemaker wouldn't scare me at all. Not a doctor but I am a Paramedic! From a medical standpoint i wouldn't be afraid of it. There are a lot of athletes with internal pacemakers out there.

[singletracker]

I read that contact sports should be avoided because the leads that attach to the heart can possibly come detached. That's my only concern. Maybe it's not worth worrying about, but I've taken some hard crashes in my day.

[EC250]

I think theres always going to be a risk of hitting the device as it inserted just below the clavicle, but there is always a risk with everything we do, good coverage/amour would be my fist thought.

The manufactors of theses devices ensure they put through rigorous testing before being deemed fit for use.

There are some great forums that will give clinical advice re this, and you can talk to people that maybe have done what you want to do and can advise you.

Good luck.

[singletracker]

Thanks for the feedback.

[Jgracey]

I had the chance to talk to a cardiologist yesterday. I asked him about this. He thoughts were, while he wouldn't just come out and say, sure riding would be fine with a pacemaker. He also didn't see it as being a huge problem either. He said it would clearly take some special care and just be aware if you took a hit to the the area of placement you would want to have it checked out. He mentality was go live your life! Do what you enjoy. Just be careful.

[singletracker]

Thanks for letting me know.

I think you and I met a few years ago. I'm not 100% for sure where, but my name is Neal Haarman and I used to live near St. Elmo, IL. Ring any bells?