Stationary biking

I am 78 years old and am approaching the 8 year anniversary of my re-birthday with my Heartmate II. I ride my Schwinn Airdyne stationary bike on a fairly regular basis. It uses the upper body as well as the legs but I don't overdo it in terms of speed or duration. Usually I follow the "ride" with a light weights workout. It works for me but would recommend avoiding the upper body part after implant until the sternotomy is fully healed. For anyone interested I am a Heartmate Ambassador and more of my story can be found at www.heartmate.com. Best regards, Reiss Tatum

Your LVAD team should be advising you on this. They sent me to cardiac rehab which I then translated to Silver Slippers. My LVAD team is almost like family and we exchange frequent emails.

While you may want to talk with your LVAD team to confirm whether you should engage in any physical activity, I started using a stationary bike a few months after insertion of my LVAD without any problem. In fact, I stopped for a couple of months and noticed some difficulty in maintaining strength in my legs. So, now it is back to the bike and a treadmill (a few sessions of each three or four times a day) to get back the stamina. The biggest issue that I have experienced with exercise and the LVAD is keeping from pulling the tube. Placement has a lot to do with that situation. I had an initial placement off to the right of my stomach area and it was hard to do anything with twisting involved. After replacement near my midline (after a surface staff infection), I have a lot more flexibility and no "tugging" issues. Unfortunately, I still think the torso turn to play golf might be a little too much. That activity might have to await the transplant.

I had an LVAD installed on 5/10/18 As of two weeks ago I’m at my local gym doing the stationary bike , threadmill, and some light weights three times a week. The stationary bike and the threadmill I take the shoulder harness off and secure to the handrails on the equipment. The drive line is long enough to support me doing the exercises on both these machines. Next month I’m going to golf. Don’t let the LVAD limit you. Get creative!

I had an LVAD installed on 5/10/18 As of two weeks ago I’m at my local gym doing the stationary bike , threadmill, and some light weights three times a week. The stationary bike and the threadmill I take the shoulder harness off and secure to the handrails on the equipment. The drive line is long enough to support me doing the exercises on both these machines. Next month I’m going to golf. Don’t let the LVAD limit you. Get creative.

Thank you all. I will talk to my coordinator about it. Thank you all again.