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Does your ICD fire when your bpm get high or just when they get abnormal

tkidman
0 Recommendations

Hello all. A gentleman on this sight brought something to my attention that I need your input on. I told him I got shocked 5 times in a row from rushing for work one morning. Docs told me my ICD was set at 150 and I got above that so they reset it at 200. It made me afraid to exercise. The gentleman said that the ICD shouldn't fire from just high heart rate, and only when abnormal while high or just abnormal period. Do you guys exercise without fear of ICD firing? Does yours fire from your bpm going over what it's set at or just when it detects abnormality? Do you know if your ICD is supposed to do what the gentleman said it's supposed to do. I'll ask the docs these questions too, but I'd rather hear it from you first.

Tanya

Explore topics in this discussion:

Exercise Arrhythmia Surgery Sudden cardiac arrest Pregnancy Syncope Beta blockers Stress

12 replies

kbauhs

MIne's only gone off from arrhythmia, not from exercise, etc. But it's a challenge to get my heart rate very high because of the high dose of beta blocker I'm on. My brother-in-law also has an ICD and got popped one day playing raquetball....but I think that's the only time that's happened to him in 7 years.

Just to be safe though, I've started wearing a heart rate monitor (w/chest strap) when I exercise. Note: I've found I can't get accurate readings on the treadmill monitors since my ICD was implanted....it's the oddest thing, they either read 60 or 120 BPM (give or take a few beats). However, my monitor will accurately relay my heart rate to the treadmill's Polar display. When I'm not on treadmill, it has a watch that I can wear that displays the rate. It's comforting to use....

Jushag

tkidman, my husband is 53, a carpenter and a downhill skier, hiker, and in the summer a rower of rafts. He had a cardiac arrest out of the blue and we discovered it was a genetically-cause arrhythmia. They brought him back with with a defibrillator (miracle boy now). He's had his ICD since Jan 5 09 and its never gone off. He's on a beta-blocker and ACE-inhibitor though. He's gotten his heart rate up to 98 once but usually it's around 72.

We take his bp and heart rate every day and night and it's very steady. We stopped drinking coffee (I suspect that was the final straw-trigger).

If excitement or sympathetic tone is triggering you, you might think about stress-relieving techniques and such. There are breathing exercises that can help.

On the other hand, you might get another opinion somewhere far away. The person I feel is the most expert in all this has been our electrophysiology nurse. She's amazing. She knows those ICDs inside and out and how to set them correctly.

He also takes a whole lot of dietary supplements at the recommendation of herbalists who have good, solid training. One of which is Cordyceps, taken as a capsule of mycelia (that's the webby underground portion of a mushroom). Fungi Perfecti sells a good quality product in my opinion. In China, they use Cordyceps for arrhythmia and there are at least six good papers written on clinical studies with Cordyceps in China. Check with a Licensed Acupuncturist in your area (some states don't license them, however). Or possibly a Naturopathic Doctor, ND. They can guide you further. Also, the American Herbalists Guild website has a listing of herbalists across the nation who have been peer-reviewed and are well trained. Herbalists are NOT licensed, just so you know. Not that licensing has ever made any health practitioner group safer.
Best, Jushag

LQT2Wendy

abnormal it goes off ~ I have gotten my heart rate high many times but it is the abnormal that makes it fire (but by the time it fires, I have already been in syncope)

mery

Mine has never gone off because of exercise or anything that caused my heart rate to increase. The few times it has, have all been arrythmia.

When I was first trying to exercise, after the surgery, I had a very hard time because I would get so tired, so quickly. My EP set the ICD for something she calls exercise mode, and it helped alot. Although still on the beta blockers and what not, and it did take a while to build up stamina, just like when you begin any other exercise regime, you will get there.

tkidman

Thank you all. That helps alot. I'm not so scared now to exercise again.

orlandparktodd

My one daughter has a single lead ICD. The other daughter has a double lead. The double lead seems to control better for heart rate shocks vs rhythm shocks. You are at the time of life when control is an issue....running with kids, diet, sleep amount, etc..all contribute to the whole. Maintaining balance with nutritional elements of sodium and potassium can also be difficult. My daughter with the single lead was shocked twice when dancing at a social function. In retrospect, she was dehydrated and as a college student lacked in sleep and eating well. Having caffeine that day may have also contributed, not that caffeine is bad but when one is tired, dehydrated, and stressed, and hasn't been eating right and adds the tendency of heart rhythm problems to it...well

Jushag

I've been digging through the scientific literature on arrythmia, looking for herbs that can calm the heart and decrease chances of arrhythmia.

I've found a handful of papers from Chinese Medicine Journals. It has been common practice to use a mushroom called Cordyceps for arrhythmia and they have had very positive results from clinical studies with human subjects.

Fungi Perfecti is a very reputable source of this and other mushroom supplements.

Do NOT go off your meds, but this supplement might help and it is not toxic nor harmful. 2,000 years of use is a pretty good clinical study in itself. Look into it.

PS Doctors won't know what it is and will be afraid of it. Most herbalists won't take on cardiology patients. You might find a Naturopathic Physician or Licensed Acupuncturist who will guide you or give you more information.

Sporty

My device fired twice (on one day) during exercise. When I went to the doctor, he changed the settings on my device. It had been set to go off once my heart rate reached 180 and while exercising, my heart rate peaked at 194. He set a new limit at 200bpm, but also raised the dosage of my betablocker, because he was concerned that it wasn't quite high enough if my heart rate was still able to get so high.

So, it is possible for your device to fire just because of a high heart rate - not just an abnormal one.

Believe me, I get why you are worried - I was a little worried to go back to exercising, as it was the first time I had been shocked. But, now I am just more careful. I try not to go full-throttle (which is hard to do on a betablocker anyway!)... don't give up on the exercise.

aduffy1

Tanya,
Hi! I have an ICD because I had an unexplained sudden cardiac arrest on Dec 2007. I have not had any problems with the ICD since then until this past Thursday. I was out taking a walk with my 5 month old baby. I did a little slow jog(for 60 seconds) and when I stopped my ICD started to go off. I screamed for help until someone came out and called 911. I ended up in the hospital overnight for observation. It went off 7 times. My heart rate got up to 200 beats per minute. They changed my settings and told me this was not a VT or v fib episode but was a SVT(which is not that dangerous). I also found out that I have developed a hyperthyroid(possibly from the pregnancy). The hyperthyroid is what caused this episode. I am having some tests this week and I was put on a beta blocker to slow my heart down. I am terrified, it was the worst thing I have ever experienced. When I exercise again i will wear a heart rate monitor for sure, but, it will probably take some time to get over this.

tkidman

aduffy1 and all who replied to my post. I began to exercise again and so far since they doubled my beta blocker, my heart rate hasn't gotten above 120. I wear a polar heart rate monitor at all times now. The fear truely does subside with time. I'm no where near as scared now as I had been. I learned to never ever let your beta blocker run out. I keep an extra bottle now. Thank you all.

stubby

I exercise regularly but I dont know what my heart rate is when I do it. I dont know if this helps but i asked about exercise when i had an ICD checkup and they said that the ICD knows when you are in a high heart rate due to exercise and when it is an irregular heartbeat and it is programmed to ignore a high normal heartbeat which might happen through exercise.

stubby

I have been trying to find out if you can use these for ages. I used to use a polar heart rate monitor before I got VT but I was warned that they wont pick up a reliable signal. if they're safe to use I might dig it out and use it again.

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