AVR - 12 months later....

[brianhughes108]

Went through AVR surgery 12 months ago. I have been gradually building up my fitness but have been careful at the same time. I now wish to "up" my training and push myself a bit harder - however - are there levels / types of exercise I should look to avoid? Do I need to keep my BPM below a certain level? I am 47 and also on 32mg of candesartan to keep my blood pressure down. Ideally looking to get back out on the road out cycling again. Any help / guidance would be appreciated.

[Zena166]

Hi Brian did you go to cardiac rehab post surgery? If so it maybe worth contacting them again. I was given a range to stay within when I was training but I think that varies. I live in the North East And we have a health and well-being service follow up after rehab run by local leisure centre who are all tuned into cardiac patients so you may like to think about contacting your local leisure centre for help. The BHF helpline may also help. Also BHF local groups sometimes run exercise classes so they may have advice. I was told as long as I build up my exercise and not to just leap into excessive workouts without putting in the foundation then I should be ok. But everyone is different. Hope all goes well. Best wishes Zena

[brianhughes108 in reply to Zena166]

Zena, Thanks for your post. Unfort' my rehab post surgery was not great, hence the year delay before feeling confident enough to increase my workouts. I have worked hard at putting in the strong foundations. Appreciate your advice re' BHF helpline. Ta. Brian

[stevejb1810]

Hi Brian

I have asked similar question in the past and there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer. I typically exercise to ~80% of my max (so 130 bpm) for you that would be ~137 bpm. The best advice I have seen is ‘listen to your body’, . So I think you can push it a bit but don’t go mad. Stay well hydrated and increase it gently just to see how it goes. As with all things cardio, if it doesn’t feel right, stop.

Steve

[brianhughes108 in reply to stevejb1810]

Steve, Thanks very much for this and interesting that today I "listened to my body" and backed off. I then checked the bpm which was sitting at 135. Thanks also for the advice re; keeping well hydrated and noted. Ta. Brian

[IanGordon]

Although early days (3+ weeks AVR surgery) my initial instruction was to keep bpm below 120. My theoretical max is 155 but I would not venture there this early on in my rehab. In addition to cardiovascular conditioning, you also need to underpin that with some form of resistance training to restore / build muscle. I've already noticed loss of tone and bulk in the last three weeks although I'm gradually increasing length and bpm of my daily walks this will have to wait until I get further guidance from my local rehab team. I'm seriously considering gym membership to supplement any NHS support. In terms of road cycling, the recommendations are week twelve so you should be ready for that but ease yourself in gently starting little and often, gradually increasing distance and the climbs as you feel your capacity build. There are no shortcuts, Brian, but it sounds as if you've put in the foundations but just need some specialist guidance as other posters have detailed.

Good luck with your return to the open road - at least it's the best time of year.