Being physically active is important for your heart health, especially if you are living with a pacemaker or other implanted cardiac device. However, as you start to age, you may find that you are not able to be as active as you once were. It happens to everyone eventually, whether they have a pacemaker or not. Just because you are starting to move a little slower doesn’t mean you should stop moving. Quite the contrary! Having a regular exercise routine as you age is crucial for maintaining overall health, independence, and quality of life.
Keep yourself moving with these exercises that are ideal for pacemaker recipients of a certain age.
Low-Impact Cardiovascular Exercises
Regular exercise is important for cardiovascular health, as it helps to lower blood pressure, improve circulation, and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. As a pacemaker recipient, low-impact exercises are the best choice for your workout. That is because your pacemaker helps to regulate heart rhythm, but intense or high-impact activities can put unnecessary stress on your cardiovascular system. Low-impact exercises allow for a gradual increase in heart rate without overloading your heart, helping to maintain your cardiovascular and overall fitness, while minimizing the physical strain on your body.
Choose low-intensity, low-impact aerobic activities that help increase blood circulation and support your heart health. These include:
Walking
Steady walking is one of the safest and best forms of exercise for heart health. Even a short walk around your neighborhood can help increase blood circulation and support your heart health.
Cycling
Whether on a stationary bike or hitting the open road (be sure to wear a helmet!), cycling is a gentle way to improve cardiovascular fitness. It’s also a great choice if you want to easily monitor and up your exercise intensity, as you can control your pace, incline resistance, and scenery.
Swimming
Like cycling, swimming offers a great cardio workout, with the water providing natural resistance with minimal physical impact. You can control the intensity of your workout by changing the length, duration, and speed of your swim laps. However, as a pacemaker recipient, this is an exercise you will want to test your comfort level with and clear with your doctor. You generally want to avoid strenuous or extreme arm and upper body movements for up to 12 weeks after your pacemaker implantation procedure. If you’re concerned or experience discomfort while swimming laps, water aerobics can be a great alternative, with many gyms and community centers offering water aerobics classes.
Elliptical Machine
Combining smooth, controlled movements with cardiovascular benefits, an elliptical machine workout increases your heart rate in a controlled manner, helping to improve heart efficiency, circulation, and oxygen delivery without excessive physical strain. You can easily adjust the elliptical’s resistance and speed, making it an ideal choice when you need to control workout intensity while monitoring heart rate. Offering a low-impact workout with minimal risk of overexertion, an elliptical machine is a safer option for those with pacemakers and other heart conditions.
Strength Training
Strength training strengthens not just muscles but also the heart, which is one giant muscle! A stronger heart pumps blood more efficiently, reducing the strain on the cardiovascular system. Combining strength training with aerobic activities (like walking or cycling) provides a well-rounded approach to maintaining your heart health and overall fitness. This is especially important as you age, and your muscle mass naturally declines.
Strength training exercises to add to your workout include:
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands provide gentle resistance to build and strengthen muscles without the heavy lifting of weight training. Regular resistance training helps reduce blood pressure by improving blood vessel function and reducing arterial stiffness, making it easier for the heart to circulate blood. As a pacemaker recipient, try to avoid high-intensity or excessive upper-body strain when using resistance bands. Keep in mind that any exercises involving repetitive, vigorous arm movements on the side of the body with your device site could cause discomfort.
Light Dumbbells
Just because you have a pacemaker doesn’t mean you have to avoid the weight rack. Using light dumbbells (5 to 10 lbs.) is a great way to integrate strength training. Lifting weights increases blood flow to muscles and tissues, improving overall circulation and oxygen delivery, while building muscle strength. When using dumbbells, focus on controlled movements with light to moderate intensity. Be cautious with overhead weightlifting, especially if you’re a recent pacemaker recipient. You want to avoid any activities that use your upper body for up to 12 weeks after your pacemaker implantation procedure.
Chair Exercises
One of the great things about strength training is you can do it while seated and still get in a heart-healthy, muscle-building workout! These “chair exercises” are all about the repetition of controlled movements. Focus on your lower body with seated leg lifts, which not only work your thighs but your core muscles (obliques and abdominal) and hip flexors. Use light dumbbells for bicep curls and overhead presses. As always, pay attention to any pacemaker site pain or discomfort and stop any overhead lifting or presses if you have issues, concerns, or it’s been less than 12 weeks since your pacemaker implantation procedure.
Bodyweight Exercises
If you do not have dumbbells or resistance bands at home and do not want to go to a gym, you can still integrate strength training by using your own body as resistance. Squats, lunges, and step-ups can build leg strength, while push-ups and planks can build upper body and core strength. It’s best to start slowly with planks or push-ups and be sure you’re more than 12 weeks removed from your pacemaker procedure and cleared by your doctor before attempting them. These exercises can help to improve your strength, flexibility, and endurance—no extra equipment required.
Flexibility and Balance
Like strength training, movement-based exercises can help maintain muscle mass, but they also help improve balance, which can reduce the risk of falling as you age. These exercises focus on more fluid movements and emphasize body balance and stability. This still helps to strengthen muscles and joints but without the excessive wear and tear that can come with weight training.
Additionally, these exercises emphasize mind-body connection, which improves mood, reduces stress, and helps combat anxiety and depression while promoting relaxation—all of which can help to lower your blood pressure and improve heart health. It may also help prevent cognitive decline and conditions like dementia.
Exercises focused on flexibility and balance include:
Yoga
Emphasizing body positioning and postures, breathing exercises, and stress reduction, yoga is truly a whole-body exercise. The deep breathing techniques strengthen the lungs, increase oxygen intake, and improve oxygen flow for better circulation. The various yoga poses and movements engage and strengthen the muscles, promoting endurance and helping the heart work more efficiently, enhancing blood flow and reducing the risk of blood clots. If standing or balancing is an issue, chair yoga provides the benefits without the concerns of landing headfirst as you attempt a “downward dog” pose. As a pacemaker recipient, you may want to avoid extreme neck stretches or deep backbends.
Tai Chi
While similar to yoga in its use of breath and movement, tai chi emphasizes continuous flowing movements rooted in Chinese martial arts over yoga’s focused poses and static posture. Tai chi’s fluid motions are almost always done standing, helping to improve balance, coordination, and stability, which is particularly important for older adults to stay mobile and reduce their risk of falls. Like yoga, tai chi’s controlled and continuous movements and deep breathing help relax blood vessels, which reduces blood pressure naturally, and improves blood flow. By keeping your body constantly moving but with gentle, low-impact motions, tai chi provides a mild cardiovascular workout that strengthens the heart without excessive strain, making it a great exercise option for those with pacemakers and other heart conditions.
Stretching
If you do not want to sign up for a yoga or tai chi class, or you are not wild about having to hit “the right” poses and motions, stretching can give you many of the same balance, flexibility and cardiovascular benefits. Stretching keeps joints flexible and reduces muscle stiffness, making it an important first step in any exercise routine. That’s because stretching helps increase blood flow to your muscles, improving overall circulation and allowing the heart to work more efficiently during and after your workout. Keeping your joints and muscles flexible through stretching improves mobility and your ability to keep exercising as you age, building your endurance while also promoting faster recovery, reducing the overall strain on your muscles and cardiovascular system.
Side-to-side neck stretches, chest lifts that expand the lungs, seated spinal twists that work your core, and calf and hamstring stretches for lower body circulation are all stretches you can easily do at home. For the best results, breathe deeply and hold each stretch gently for 20 to 30 seconds per side.
Tips and Support for Exercising with a Pacemaker
When it comes to exercising with a pacemaker, the great news is that your pacemaker should not impact your physical activity levels in the long term. If you are still within two to three months of your pacemaker implantation, you may notice some difference in your physical stamina or discomfort around your pacemaker site. This is why some forms of exercise are discouraged for the first 12 weeks as your incision site heals and your pacemaker works to regulate your heart rate and rhythm.
Before you jump back into exercising or start adding new exercises into your existing workout routine, be sure to consult with your cardiologist or primary care physician. Based on the health reasons for your device and the type of device you have, your doctor may have personalized recommendations and specific guidelines for the best exercises for you. Together, you can set realistic fitness goals and tailor your exercise routine for your pacemaker powered body at any age!
Want more ideas for exercising safely with a pacemaker as you age? Check out the Pacemaker Club’s Exercise & Sports Forum where you can connect with fellow pacemaker recipients to share experiences, workout tips, and navigate your fitness journey together with the support of our ForHearts Worldwide community.