Setting Realistic Expectations

[Enzo & Ziti]

I had my AVR with conduit just over 4 weeks ago and I've been very fortunate as my resting heart rate has already returned to 63 BPM I'm desperate to start exercising again, but I don't want to overextend myself and the cardiac rehab group is just short of mind-numbing - I'm the junior most member by 15 years.

I know it's different for each person, but what are realistic expectations as to what I can attempt? Are there any pre-established exercise/running programs I could use as a guideline?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Superbob]

I had my AVR with conduit just over 4 weeks ago and I've been very fortunate as my resting heart rate has already returned to 63 BPM I'm desperate to start exercising again, but I don't want to overextend myself and the cardiac rehab group is just short of mind-numbing - I'm the junior most member by 15 years.

I know it's different for each person, but what are realistic expectations as to what I can attempt? Are there any pre-established exercise/running programs I could use as a guideline?

Thanks for your help.

I'd check the health and fitness section at a Barnes & Noble. Ought to be books that cover this -- if not, maybe one needs to be written.

Curious about what the problem is being the young'un in cardiac rehab. Pace too slow for you? Wondering how many sessions you've attended. I went to 32 of them and found that the exercise pace was individually tailored to me. Sure, it starts slowly, but they step it up after that. Though I am an old codger, there were some older than me who were exercising briskly.

 

[SumoRunner]

I was only 43 and a long time runner when I got AVR in 1991, but I waited the prescribed 6 weeks before attempting any running at all. Never went to any rehab. They didn't really push it back then, so I was on my own. Because of other complications it took me 6 more weeks to run a whole mile but I'd say I was back to normal training miles by 6 mos.

 

[ctyguy]

Im 43 and about 1 month after my surgery I went to cardiac rehab orientation. As I walked through the place I noticed EVERYONE was at least 60 years old. At 4 weeks I was walking on a treadmill and even trying to slow jog a minute here and there. My opinion is that the cardiac rehab is best suited for those who are indeed older and who don't have a good understanding of how to exercise properly. Seems the first few visits were going to target going over the equipment and classes on nutrition. For me it just didn't seem to make sense. I spoke with my cariologist and he told me no weight training that involved my chest for 3 months and any other weight training needed to be light weights and lots of reps. That is what I've done and am still doing, heavy weights for me is a thing of the past.

Aerobically I'd suggest getting a heart monitor and gradually working your way up to your target rate. So if your target is 140 maybe you train for a week at 110, then 120, ect...until your at your target. Your heart basically has to relearn how to work efficiently. If you had stenosis (like me) my heart worked much harder than it should have been. I've noticed in the 8 to 10 weeks that I've been running that my bpm has come down by about 15 even though my pace hasn't changed.

 

[MNmom]

I was a young one at cardiac rehab- just turning 31 tomorrow- and the only female, but I went to it and did my thing for about a month- 14 sessions I think- until they approved me to go back to my favorite - Golds Gym. I did not attend many of the classes because they did not apply to me (diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, etc)
My point, it was a bit mind numbing at first too, but I did increase at a good pace, and the best part is I now feel comfortable working out on my own, with my heart rate monitor or not. My cardiologist actually told me to disregard my heart rate as a monitoring tool and just exercise based on how I am feeling, since focusing on my heart rate seemed to slow me down, and didnt match the way I was feeling.
Anyway, as for goals, just do a little more every day, what ever it is you are doing. Aim for 5-7 days per week, and increase time and speed gradually until you feel back to your old self again.
Good luck!

 

[Enzo & Ziti]

I'd check the health and fitness section at a Barnes & Noble. Ought to be books that cover this -- if not, maybe one needs to be written.

Curious about what the problem is being the young'un in cardiac rehab. Pace too slow for you? Wondering how many sessions you've attended. I went to 32 of them and found that the exercise pace was individually tailored to me. Sure, it starts slowly, but they step it up after that. Though I am an old codger, there were some older than me who were exercising briskly.

In hindsight I realize my comment was not particularly well put, I apologize. What I meant to emphasize is that the majority of the participants at rehab are there because of bad life choices e.g. smoking, obesity, disregard for their body's warning signals, etc. So rehab is geared towards individuals who were not particularly interested in exercise and proper diet prior to their heart surgeries, so a lot of time is devoted to fitness and nutrition fundamentals. I had bicuspid aortic valve disease and was fairly fit and living a healthy lifestyle prior to surgery.

I've attended 5 sessions to date. I'm definitely interested in pushing more and during my exercise periods when I've made increases in intensity and exertion, I've found my heart has tolerated it reasonably well with my pulse returning to normal resting levels in an acceptable amount of time. I'm not looking to prove anything and certainly don't want to enter into a-fib, but I would definitely like something more tailored to my capabilities, which my current rehab is unable/unwilling to provide.

 

[Ross]

Bring it up to your fitness coach at the next session. I'm sure they can kick it up a few notches if you let them know that your more interested in harder workouts geared more toward what a healthy individual would get.

 

[tprice54]

In my case, my cardio gave me the go ahead to return to running at 6 weeks, but my surgeon said 8 weeks....I waited the 8 weeks, but only becase I was being watched (by my wife!)

As always, best to check with your doctor. But at 8 weeks, I felt no discomfort in running or biking.

 

[DSOB]

I'm now 10 weeks out from AVR. I was shocked when the cardio rehab people couldn't get me in for 6 weeks, so I basically said screw it, I'll do this myself. And being the youngest guy and the only non-obese guy on the cardio floor after surgery didn't give me a good vision of what I'd be doing in rehab, either. At 7 weeks my surgeon was a little surprised at how long rehab said it was going to be to get me in, but noted that with older/unhealthier patients they aren't all that ready to start exercising in the weeks right after surgery, so that might explain it. He said I could do anything i could tolerate, except for weightlifting involving the chest muscles, to wait until 3 months for that.

I'm a soccer referee, so I started doing wind sprints on a soccer field, 50 yards running,25 yards walking, 25 yards running, 25 yards walking, 25 yards running, 50 yards walking, and repeating that until I hit 2000 yards at first, and up up to 3000 yards now. The lungs were a little ragged at first, but the heart felt fine. The real problem was deconditioned legs, they felt like I had weights around the ankle, but that is getting better.

My first high school match is in a week, and with JV and varsity I'll get 3 - 4miles of wind sprints in over a 3 hour period. I have 17 such matches scheduled for September through mid-October, so I should be in pretty good shape by the playoffs.

 

[jds]

If you cannot get the quality go for the quantity

If you cannot get the quality go for the quantity

I just walked my a** off until I got cleared for running and biking. I'm more a biker than a runner but my surgeon said to wait for 3 months to let the sternum solidify before risking a fall.

So, I walked a whole lot. Get headphones and listened to a lot of Jimmy Cliff.

Rehab was OK but I did a lot on my own as well - low intensity, high volume.

John

 

[Pete]

When I was discharged, I wasnt given any guidance nor a Rx for rehab. So on my own been walking about 2mi every morning on variable terrain. Got myself a basic Garmin Forerunner with functions of distance, pace and heart rate. Recently, I'll mix up my routine with some jogging for a couple of minutes. During the walk/jog my heart rate varies between 130's - 150. I'm down into 70's-80's as a resting heart rate now. Was not a walker/runner before but kind of like it now.

 

[DebbyA]

Well, I'm nearly 61, have never been a fitness geek, but
a) my fitness goals in rehab were based on a stress test that was required for the rehab requisition, so the condition of other participants didn't matter to me
b) when I apologized to the nurses at rehab facility for causing them extra work by varying my routine to see how much I could do, they assured me that they enjoyed having someone take an active interest
c) fortunately, the lifestyle lectures, which I had dreaded, were optional add-ons to the schedule--the main focus was exercise