Heart Healthy????

[PeaPicker]

I will try to make my point quickly as to not waste these members valuable time.I have been gathering as much information as I can for a thru hike of the AT and I came across this "Nutrition for Thru-hikers:An Interview with Sports Dietitian,Tavis Piattoly" and he had this to say"I find it very similar to other endurance or even ultra-endurance sports. When you're going on a 10-12 hour hike, you not only need a strong cardiovascular system, but you also need to be well fueled to get through a long day of activity."
Now here is my point I have a pacemaker/defibrillator after a heart attack in 2005.I exercise and watch my diet.I take the obligatory drugs for blood pressure and cholesterol.My Doctor said if i just watch myself and don't over do it, he has no problem.You guys know the trail. I do not see a problem and my doctor does not. You Know the question I have so I would like some feedback.

[ams212001]

I don't think anyone here has the background to give solid advice on a person with a pacemaker and hiking the trail. You probably should get a second opinion from another Dr. That is too much of an important life decision to let stranger with no medical background influence your decision to hike. Stick with professionals.

[PeaPicker]

First ,thank you for your reply ams212001 it was a solid reply,however I was not looking for medical advice from the knowledgeable members here .I simply wanted their feedback on the difficulty s of a thru hike.I have taken care to talk to both my Primary Doctor and my Cardiologist.I may not have been clear in the above post.....Has anybody with heart problems completed a thru hike? Does anybody know anyone who has and did they encounter any problems with the altitude and up and down of a daily hike??Would especially like to know are their anybody else with a pacemaker hike the AT ...just simple feed back...your concern was appreciated....I have already made the decision to make the Thru hike and believe I can do it.Slow and steady pace should see me thru.

[Tuckahoe]

Im not a thruhiker, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Im being redundant, but get that second opinion. Then check out the book 300 Zeros Lessons of the Heart on the Appalachian Trail by Dennis Blanchard. I read the book a couple years ago, but Blanchard had his thruhike interupted in Virginia with a heart issue and the need to have bypass surgery. The 300 zeros refers to the number of days he was off the trail recovering before he could return to finish his hike.

The other other thing I can add is to prepare and train ahead of time. I think you want to hit the trail with your trail legs in place, I would not want to have to develop my trail stamina on the trail. And I would start off taking it easy and ease into the miles.

[Zippy Morocco]

If a good diet is essential to your health then you probably will have to use mail drops and dehydrate your own meals. It is very difficult to eat nutritious balanced meals shopping in trail towns. This is the one area I plan to focus on for my next though hike.

[moldy]

You are looking for a "trail" definition of what "overdoing it" means. I think there is 2 different parts to overdoing it. The "long haul" and "todays hike". For the long haul you need to get a handle on several aspects of thru-hiking like conditioning, getting enough sleep, nutrition. When you go to the gym to get in condition you should train not just to make your feet and legs strong. On these big climbs on the trail you need good respiration and heat management. You can train for this. You need a sleep system that works well for you. Some people sleep better in a shelter, some in a tent, some in a hammock. Some people sleep better near to a shelter other sleep better far away. Which place gives you the best nights sleep? Most people eat what they find along the trail and pay no attention to what they put in their mouth. You should be ready to do better than that. You should have care packages from home that are tailored for your health. No matter what you do the long haul will run you down. You will loose weight. Long term exhaustion can kill you. Pushing too many miles every day will cause exhaustion. You need to have more zero days than other hikers. I do 1 every 7 days many do 1 every 10 days, you should start with 1 every 5 days and see how it goes. Weigh yourself when in town, take your blood pressure. Arrange for a blood workup at the clinic in Damascus and have them send the results to your heart Doc. That's the long haul. Don't let todays hike kill you either. You need to make a code that you live by. Make a plan and stick to it. Don't catch the trail condition called "get to town'itis". Don't let your trail buddies pressure you to deviate from your plan. You can do this hike and end up in better health than your are right now.

[Pedaling Fool]

I don't think anyone here has the background to give solid advice on a person with a pacemaker and hiking the trail. You probably should get a second opinion from another Dr. That is too much of an important life decision to let stranger with no medical background influence your decision to hike. Stick with professionals.

Yeah, that was my first thought after reading the OP.

So let me start with a big ol' disclaimer: I know nothing about exercise and pacemaker-type devices.

However, WRT cardio health (in general). I feel like my cardio has improved since hiking the trail in 2006, but only because I've worked on it. I don't believe the trail develops a kickass cardio system (in a all-around sense), what it does do is develop a kick ass aerobic base.

What I noticed out there is that everyone goes in the "red" in the beginning, i.e. anaerobic. This is because we were not physically prepared for the climbs, especially with weight. However, as time goes on those climbs become easier, through improved cardio efficiency and you don't very often go into the red and you start to plateau; and that's why it's a kick ass way to develop an aerobic base, because you spend every day at an aerobic level. But I improved on my aerobic capacity through anaerobic training after the trail.


I have no idea how pacemakers work WRT exercise, especially when you go anaerobic. I would get with your doc on that, but a good way to simulate climbing hills and going into the red is to do some squats (under medical supervision), don't do them with heavy weights, just something that will allow you to do, say 20 reps very quickly (don't do them slowly) and you will very much experience going into the red.

[HikerMom58]

If a good diet is essential to your health then you probably will have to use mail drops and dehydrate your own meals. It is very difficult to eat nutritious balanced meals shopping in trail towns. This is the one area I plan to focus on for my next though hike.

I agree with this ^^ 100%.

Definitely get a second and third opinion. Also, I would not attempt a thru-hike without doing a few section hikes first.

I see you live in TX. Is there any way you can get to the trail for a "trial run"? See if you like it and see how you feel.

There's been one death(that I know of) in my area of VA, on the trail, that seemed to be due to a heart related issue. This person had been complaining of chest pains in the shelter log book.

One more thing that you need to consider is the "heat factor" and the stress that puts on your heart. It's not all about the physical activity but also take into consideration that you will be living outside in all kinds of weather, as well.

There's a lot to consider.

Thanks for coming on here and asking for our advice. I'm flattered. We wish you well!!

[MuddyWaters]

30% of people dont drop out in GA because its "easy" for them
They drop out because it is incredibly difficult for them, they never anticipated it would be that hard.

But....they are in average (poor) shape, carry too much weight.

It can be as easy or as hard as YOU make it. Many make it too hard for themselves.

That said, you will breathe hard, and work hard, for hours at a time on some long uphills.

I dont know anything about pacemakers, but Id say if you can do 30 min of intense cardio on a machine, you would be fine. 100% agree you need to discuss with health professionals.

[Just Bill]

Two things- not sure how it works with your condition/device, but consider a heart rate monitor. Easy way to tell if you're over doing it. Until I started wearing one I was a bit surprised by what affected me and what didn't. Consider reading Ray Jardine's Trail Life, while not directly related to you he advocates using your heart rate to dictate your pace. Eventually you can move past the device if you like, I think Ray's ability to self-monitor your heart rate is an advanced skill, but the technique is sound. (on a side note, going with the lightest possible load should be a concern as well.) Secondly, consider an alternate hike like WeShallSee is planning. Starting at harpers and going south will allow you easier terrain to build up your trail legs and ease your way in much more safely than starting in GA. http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ght=weshallsee

[DeerPath]

I say, start your hike, your body will tell you what to do.

[Alligator]

Really good point about sleep Moldy.

JustBill's recommendation for the heart monitor is good as well. I have one that I used a lot when my afib was uncontrolled. If you get one, you want to make sure the watch part has a long life battery and not the rechargeable kind. I have a nice Garmin but I can't really recharge it on trail. If you take some section hikes, does your pacemaker record data? I'm not sure if any do that but if it did, it would be great to get your cardiologist to look it over.

If you are looking for anecdotes about other pacemaker hikers, it would be helpful (if you don't mind) stating what the pacemaker does. Pacemakers handle different functions. For instance my mother's runs one of her chambers. If it fails, she needs to be in the cardiac unit in under five minutes. Some just pick up occasionally if there is some intrinsic failure.

So you have two questions here? Food/diet and then maintaining daily hiking intensity, strain?

Also, your thread title had hearth in the title. I changed it but if you meant that I will change it back.

[Just Bill]

LOL- thanks Alligator- I passed this post several times because I didn't want to read a thread about trashed firepits.

[Alligator]

LOL- thanks Alligator- I passed this post several times because I didn't want to read a thread about trashed firepits.

I'd have opened it if it said heart, but I especially opened it for the reason you didn't.

[Just Bill]

Forgive the pun, little burned out on the issue. Joke, joke, and a joke.

[rocketsocks]

Yeah, that was my first thought after reading the OP.

So let me start with a big ol' disclaimer: I know nothing about exercise and pacemaker-type devices.

However, WRT cardio health (in general). I feel like my cardio has improved since hiking the trail in 2006, but only because I've worked on it. I don't believe the trail develops a kickass cardio system (in a all-around sense), what it does do is develop a kick ass aerobic base.

What I noticed out there is that everyone goes in the "red" in the beginning, i.e. anaerobic. This is because we were not physically prepared for the climbs, especially with weight. However, as time goes on those climbs become easier, through improved cardio efficiency and you don't very often go into the red and you start to plateau; and that's why it's a kick ass way to develop an aerobic base, because you spend every day at an aerobic level. But I improved on my aerobic capacity through anaerobic training after the trail.


I have no idea how pacemakers work WRT exercise, especially when you go anaerobic. I would get with your doc on that, but a good way to simulate climbing hills and going into the red is to do some squats (under medical supervision), don't do them with heavy weights, just something that will allow you to do, say 20 reps very quickly (don't do them slowly) and you will very much experience going into the red.

This is what I started doing....Squats (as per Pedaling Fool) and it has helped me out quite a bit, I still struggle on the up hills, but not as bad as before I started doing them. It has provided a level of Cardio that my training was missing as just walking wasn't enough after I plateaued. It's low impact and easier on my knees than running.

Can't really offer much more than that about your condition, other than to say, the fact that your out there doing this in the first place is a testament to pushing yourself, so no need to really push it...slow and steady wins this race...Great luck to you.

I've also read Dennis Blanchard's book..."300 Zero's" it's one of my favorites!

[Spirit Walker]

We have a friend who hiked the trail and developed heart issues. He went home midway for bypass surgery. Two years later he finished the trail. He didn't get a pacemaker for several more years, but he did continue to hike and do trail work both before and after he got the pacemaker. We hiked with him only once after he got the pacemaker, and I noticed it did make it harder to climb because he needed his heart to pump more/faster to get more oxygen, but the machine kept a steady slow pace that didn't match the need. He had to stop several times on the way up steep hills. That said, it didn't stop him, it just made him slower.

[double d]

You have an interesting question, being that your still middle age (59), and had your heart attack a few years ago, so I would suggest two things: 1. what "caused" your first heart attack (out of shape, bad diet, genetics, smoking, etc.) and 2. what shape are you in now (none-smoking, good diet, good overall health and this is what you indicate). I would get a lot of hiking in under your pack and on a trail to get a good idea if long distance hiking is for your body. Good luck, stay in the fight!

[PeaPicker]

Alligator...thank you for the correction.In response to the kind of pacemaker,I have a Dual Chamber(leads go to two areas atrium and ventricle) for atrial fibrillation.It is rate responsive to speed up AND slow down heart rate.Like your mother ,one is more dangerous than the other, hence the defibrillator part of the device.I have an updated version(replacement in May) that is now wireless interpreted(like a cell phone) so it is monitored 24/7.I can talk to my Doctor about it's activity as long as I can get a cell signal he can see or read what's going on....wait wait.. we already talked about lack of signal for days at a time just be sure that when I do get one call office for data download.Hope that kinda helps with the medical part again.I am trying to be most conscientious or the wife's blessing will be withdrawn.
Just Bill

very good point about the rate monitor and the Cardiologist has already recommended and is going to provide training for it.

[PeaPicker]

Just one more real big Thank you for ALL of your responses to my thread....I AM RIGHT ABOUT ONE THING, YOU PEOPLE,ARE WHAT ONE WANTS IN A NEIGHBOR....again thank you neighbors