Heart rate monitor injury

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IronmaninTraining

Active member
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Messages
26
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
My title may blow it out of proportion, but last Friday I finally got outside to do a short two mile run. I have a garmin 405 and heart rate monitor and at the end of the run noticed blood on my chest. Apparently the garmin pod that is attached in the center with the strap rubbed into the bottom of my scar. It wasn't anything to bad, but after the scar has healed so well I hate to damage the overall process.

Anyways since friday I have run the same route at the same pace or slower so I know my bpm are okay (For now I'm trying to keep it below 85%).

Anyone in this community have suggestions on what to do. After it heals I may try a tight shirt or place something in between to avoid any continued impact to the scar.
 
My Timex HRM strap would bother me because it put pressure on one of my sternum wires. I just moved the sensor to one side off the center of my sternum and it seemed to work. I also think it helps to use sensor gel.

How long since your surgery? My scar was pretty sensitive for 6-9 months afterwards.


Mark
 
The scar (scar tissue) is not ever going to be as robust as your skin was, even if not sensitive (nerve irritation) to the touch. Mine remains sensitive after this surgery and my surgery was Nov 2011.

I have faint memories of the same after my first surgery when I was 9, yet I seem to recall within a year it was much better at my surgery at 28.

So not only can it be different for everyone, but it can be different even for the one person.

Apply commonsense and welcome to your new normal.

Btw my HR chest strap often drifts down too. I have been considering a better strap mechanism as the standard one has NEVER worked well for me jogging. Lickilly i hate jogging and prefer to cycle.
 
Mark...my surgery was on July 1st.

With the garmin the sensors need to be right below the pectoral muscles.

I'm going to try to place it higher or move it around, but I'm somewhat gun shy as I do to want to jack up the scar again.

Can't wait for the day when they ditch the strap and the watch can get your bpm of your wrist.
 
IronmaninTraining;n848592 said:
Mark...my surgery was on July 1st.


Can't wait for the day when they ditch the strap and the watch can get your bpm of your wrist.

You can get a HRM now that is entirely wrist-mounted. It is made by MIO -- Google the company. They aren't cheap (about $200), but NO chest strap.

I'm OK with my Polar chest strap unit, but I recently bought the MIO for my wife. Chest straps are, for her, a totally different problem ;-)) .
 
I picked up an older model Scosche Rhythm arm strap HRM at Walmart on clearance. It uses an optical sensor, like the pulse-ox devices and talks to a smartphone app via bluetooth. I see online that their newer model is about $80 (mine was $20, but only because it was discontinued).
 
When I upgraded my Garmin to the 405 a few years back, the "soft strap" that came with it chafed my pretty badly, so I continued to use the old school heart rate monitor that I had been using with the 305 model. My old school heart rate monitor strap died a few months ago. As a replacement, I purchased the latest and greatest soft strap (figuring they would have improved the strap issues) and it continued to chafe my chest, so I gave in (figuring I did not have any other options) and started putting a piece of athletic tape over the area where it chafed me before each run. I did some research and it seems this is a common problem. I finally ordered the Polar strap referenced above and am scheduled to receive it this Friday (12/5), just in time for a 16 mile run I have planned on Saturday. I will respond back next week with my feedback after getting a few runs with it. It was about $16 on amazon.
 
Bean counter,

I have the same issue with the soft strap garmin. I thought of using a bandage or some other type of cushion in between the strap and my scar but have been solely using the bike and treadmill. I haven't ventured outside as I'm to worried about maintaining my heart rate under 170.

Two questions for the athletic crowd...

I plan on starting swimming and was looking at the polar watches and hrm (they are pretty cheap at about $60 or below). Has anyone used them for swimming? Like I mentioned I'm really concerned about getting back into things and I feel if I have a control of my heart rate I know I'm not hurting myself.

I know spartangator got a ross procedure and this applies to everyone else as well, but I'm wondering how everyone got back to pre surgery levels. What precautions did everyone take? As I mentioned with my bpm I'm concerned about hitting a hill and spiking my heart rate and causing harm. My cardiologist said he was amazed I didn't notice any symptoms with how severe I was so I don't think I will notice any symptoms after from working out hence my concern with monitoring.

My surgery was on July 1st and I feel like I'm spinning my wheels here.
 
Ironmanin Training-I used to do ironmans (5 of them between 2002 and 2005, then life got in the way and shifted to only running). During that time, Garmins for running were not out yet, so Polar was our only option for monitoring HR. I never monitored my HR while swimming in training, but did use the polar in races and never had an issue swimming with it. Mine was a higher-end Polar, so I can't speak to how the basic models tolerate swimming.

As far as your question about returning to pre-op levels and what training was like when I was first getting back into it. I never did return to pre-op levels, but I should add that before I had my BAV procedure done (June 2010), I was pretty much near my athletic potential. I was 38 years old and been very consistent with my running and was averaging 70-90 miles per week for quite some time. These days, I cannot imagine even coming close to those levels again; mainly because my motivation to train at that level again is simply not there, I am up about 20 lbs and I am a few years older. Additionally, my running has not been as consistent as it was before my my surgery. I think my body was ready for a break having been so focused on endurance training for almost a decade. With that said, my statement of not returning to pre-op athletic levels may not be as meaningful. As far the precautions I took when I was getting back into it, I was a slave to my HR monitor. I did not start running until about 3 months post op. Once I started running again, it took my heart about 3 months to get efficient again. By that I mean during the 3 months, my HR was very volatile. I would be on a run and it would easily go from 140-145 just by hitting a slight incline. It was frustrating, but I stuck with it. After about 3 months, I could go on a run and fall into a groove and my HR would be very stable, only moving up or down by 1 BPM. These days I will only check my HR about every 1/2 mile or so. I also think it is pretty normal to be very cautious with our HRs after our surgery. I will say, once I got past the mental barriers, I was a bit more comfortable pushing the HR. This past Thanksgiving, I did an 8K Turkey Trot and went all out from the start and held on for pretty much most of the race and was not too concerned with what my HR was doing as the rest of my body felt good. I hope that helps.
 

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