May 1, 2010, 8:21 AM
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Defibrillator
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Recently I had one put in just under where my left three ring attachment is and I'm very concerned if a hard opening will cause me a real problem. Are there any Jumpers who have one of these. Please let me know of your experience
Make sure you talk with your doctor about the settings. My mom has one and the Dr had it set way low. My mom kept getting the crap knocked out of her by the device. The Dr finally admitted that he saw mostly 55+ old men that sat on the sofa and drank beer - never got their heart rate up or did any kind of exercise. My mom walks a lot on the beach and the normal heart patterns were being mistaken by the defib as PCVs and hit her with the juice. Sometimes she got it more than once in an event. In the end the Dr upped the tolerance for it to deem an emergency.
Recently I had one put in just under where my left three ring attachment is and I'm very concerned if a hard opening will cause me a real problem. Are there any Jumpers who have one of these. Please let me know of your experience
I would recommend talking to you doctor before skydiving with an ICD device, I believe your concern is justified. My thought would be that a hard opening may displace the leads. Is your device an pacer ICD combo or just an ICD? Not that it makes a difference, I was just wondering.
I know a couple guys that have them. They had them put where they were away from the harness. Maybe can get it moved.
He probably could have it moved but the problem would be getting insurance to move it. Its a subcutaneous and the placement of the device is irrelevant as long as the leads are properly placed but explaining to the insurance company "hey I need you to pay the doctor to move this thing so I can skydive" probably won't fly.
I know a guy in Deland who had a special pad made that covered his device to protect it, he said it worked well. If you'd like shoot me a PM and Ill ask him about it.
Hey, I'm a skydiver... not a doctor. Really. My mother's heart stopped when I was in H.S. and she has had a defib since then (since about 1988), what I know is her heart gets of of rhythm and the device puts it back into rhythm - PCVs or PVCs. I know pre-vascular constrictions.
Now that you have chided me I remember the correct wording. I just could not remember if it was that or pre-cardiovascular constrictions.
In reply to:
Quote:
patterns were being mistaken by the defib as PCVs
I'm hoping you mean PVC's, otherwise she might need a new device :p~
Recently I had one put in just under where my left three ring attachment is and I'm very concerned if a hard opening will cause me a real problem. Are there any Jumpers who have one of these. Please let me know of your experience
Hi Mike, The standard placement for pacemakers & IADs is mid-subclavian (right where it is). Unfortunately, IADs tend to be a bit BIG. Creating another pocket (marsupialization) a couple inches over won't help you much, IMHO. As someone already guessed. The main risk to the unit, is a lead being disconnected through trauma. That much force would also hurt you, not just the unit.
If I may suggest? Talk to your Cardiologist. Find out about blunt trauma (hard opening/malfunction), interference from FAA radio traffic, & using base-line settings that won't cause unnecessary firings of the unit. Cardiologists tend to err on the conservative side w/those units. A custom made, sturdy pad should be all you'll need to protect yourself, & the unit. So long as radio interference isn't an issue, & the settings can be safely adjusted. You should be fine. Good Luck.
(This post was edited by PiLFy on Aug 30, 2010, 3:16 PM)
I know a guy in Deland who had a special pad made that covered his device to protect it, he said it worked well. If you'd like shoot me a PM and Ill ask him about it.
I just got back from a weekend physician's conference and lo and behold, there was a lecture involving pacemakers. According to the cardiologist, for those involved in "contact sports" (and I suspect our sport can sometimes qualify), a protective padding for the generator is recommended in those with pacemakers.
