The Heart Warrior Project

Vital Beat: A T-Shirt to Protect Your ICD During Sports

I love sports. I have always loved engaging in different sports activities.

It’s one of the joys of life that makes me genuinely happy. As it does for many people.

Before my sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and subsequent ICD, I used to engage in tons of sports such as muay Thai, motocross, snowboarding, and (for me) the one sport to rule them all, climbing.

Gosh, I absolutely love climbing.

However, all those sports completely fell away, especially motocross, snowboarding, and close-contact sports like muay Thai, when I had a cardiac arrest and they implanted an ICD inside me.

As if we do not already have enough things to deal with and to keep in mind as survivors of SCA, we are also told to refrain from countless sports so as not to damage the ICD.

It is frustrating.

Especially if sports used to be such a big part of your life.

This annoyance led me to check the internet one night, with the thought that “there must be a solution to this”.

And you know what? There is.

In my search, I stumbled upon Vital Beat. They offer t-shirts incorporated with a shield made of the impact-protective material D3OⓇ, which can be placed right where you have your ICD or other medical devices, such as pacemakers and S-ICDs.

The material D3OⓇ is a very light yet robust and flexible material used not only in various sports gear such as those for ice hockey, but also for industrial work wear, law enforcement protection such as those used by the army, and many other areas.

If you are interested to learn more about how D3OⓇ works, click ‘here’.

So I decided to test one of these t-shirts to see how protective and helpful it could be for survivors like us who are living with an ICD.

After having worn it a few times while climbing, I found that I genuinely love having this t-shirt with me.

Even though mobility can be a bit restricted because of the shield, I did truly feel a change in confidence wearing the t-shirt while climbing.

And that is exactly what I was looking for: to not be constantly worrying about damaging the ICD.

Suddenly, having this t-shirt from Vital Beat opens up many sports for me again—such as snowboarding, something I am really looking forward to trying again this winter.

All I can say is, if you used to love sports and now find that you can’t do it anymore or feel less confident doing it because you’re afraid of damaging the ICD, this t-shirt can be the solution for you.

Vital Beat ships worldwide. They offer the t-shirt in white or black, and there are even custom solutions if you have specific requirements.

Have a look at their website for more info about the t-shirt. Also, if you have any questions, you can reach them easily through WhatsApp or email. They are very responsive.

Personally, this t-shirt has genuinely made my life better as a cardiac arrest survivor living with an ICD. This is exactly why I am writing this article here on The Heart Warrior Project, so that hopefully it may make your life better as well.