Recovery After Pacemaker Surgery: Activities to Limit or Avoid
Your recovery timeline may depend on the type of pacemaker you have, Dr. Warrier says. These can be traditional wired transvenous devices or smaller leadless devices.
There are four basic types of pacemakers:
- A leadless pacemaker attaches to the inner wall of your heart and doesn’t have a separate battery or wires (leads).
- A single- or dual-chamber pacemaker uses wires that attach to one or two chambers of your heart.
- A biventricular pacemaker has two wires connecting to the lower chambers of your heart, and a third wire that attaches to your heart’s upper chamber for cardiac resynchronization therapy.
“With leadless, you will likely feel much freer to get back to your normal routine without limitations sooner than with the traditional type,” Warrier says. “With either, it’s important to gradually increase the workload over the first few weeks. A reasonable target for returning to your baseline level of exercise — what you had before the surgery — is about four to six weeks.”
“These activities can increase pressure at the incision and potentially lead to complications,” Dr. Gould says. “Instead, it’s recommended that within the first few months, you focus on walking to promote increased circulation and lifting lighter weights of less than 10 pounds to prevent frozen shoulder syndrome.”
Once your doctor says you are fully recovered after your pacemaker surgery, you can usually exercise without restrictions, he adds. However, it’s recommended that you avoid sports that involve the risk of direct blows to the chest, such as hockey or football, even if you had the surgery years ago.
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