This will sound odd to most of you, but it's a serious question. A friend on the Cardiac Athletes forum asked recently whether anyone with an ICD (pacemaker) has ever been jolted while swimming open water. ICDs are set to give you a shock if the pulse gets too slow or too squirrly. You know like, "CLEAR! ZAP!", except there's no one shouting "clear", just the unannounced zap. The jolt is like a punch in the chest and takes the wind out of you for a few seconds. He's a bit nervous about swimming in a lake with this thing. I have an artificial aortic valve, but not an ICD.
An ICD, is an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, a somewhat different animal from just a "pacemaker". It is designed to go off because it senses that the heart is out of rhythm. From what I am reading in your post, it sounds like it hasn't gone off while he is swimming, just that he is worried that it might.
The only and best advice is to go back and talk to his cardiologist.
I got a St Jude pacemaker this past April due to Bradycardia, or slow heart rate. Devices these days are "smart" and can be adjusted based on the individual patient's situation. I've had the auto rate response function fine-tuned on mine a couple of times, based on feedback I've given to the tech at my cardiologist's office.
Mark
An ICD, is an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, a somewhat different animal from just a "pacemaker". It is designed to go off because it senses that the heart is out of rhythm. From what I am reading in your post, it sounds like it hasn't gone off while he is swimming, just that he is worried that it might.
The only and best advice is to go back and talk to his cardiologist.
I got a St Jude pacemaker this past April due to Bradycardia, or slow heart rate. Devices these days are "smart" and can be adjusted based on the individual patient's situation. I've had the auto rate response function fine-tuned on mine a couple of times, based on feedback I've given to the tech at my cardiologist's office.
Mark
