Abstract
Modern pacemaker technology, in addition to alleviating symptoms enhancing survival, and improving cardiovascular function, allows many patients to participate in exercise training and other forms of physical activity. Because pacemaker settings are adjustable, for optimal management of the active patient it is important for the clinician to understand pacemaker types and programmed settings, how these settings affect exercise capacity, and how to determine if the response to exercise is appropriate. There are also several options for exercise testing that can be used to guide the adjustment of the pacemaker settings to assure appropriate pacemaker-driven rate responses. The patient's health status and lifestyle, the type of pacemaker, and the facilities and experience of personnel will guide the specific option for exercise testing. Additionally, the guidelines for the exercise prescription depend on the underlying need for the pacemaker and the type of pacemaker implanted. In addition to reviewing these issues, this article encourages clinicians to promote physical activity among patients with pacemakers who could benefit most from participation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 125-131 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Cardiovascular Reviews and Reports |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - Jan 1 2001 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine