How was the recovery after surgery

I take it you change a lot off your dietaryrequirements and exercise more take all this helps with your heart health going forward any one give information on there regime or tips for keeping the heart healthy after triple bye pass

[Chappychap]

Like you I had a triple bypass.

I want twenty more years of healthy, active life; but I don't trust the bypass and medication to deliver this. If I just carry on as if nothing has happened there's an uncomfortably large chance that I'll die before 70 or end up wheelchair bound. So I believe there's no alternative but to implement some significant lifestyle changes.

I gave up smoking fifteen or twenty years ago, but instead started taking nicotine tablets. There's little hard evidence in this area but I get the impression that they are not a cancer risk but nicotine in any form (vaping, patches, tablets, etc) isn't great for blood pressure and heart health, so I've quit the nicotine tablets...which actually was harder than quitting cigarettes!

Next is exercise. The NHS is clear, 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week (excluding the important warm up and cool down periods). For most people on this forum "moderate aerobic" means a heart rate of about 110 beats per minute, or a level of exertion where it's becoming difficult to hold a conversation. One problem is that unless you live in a hilly area you'll struggle to achieve this level of exercise from walking alone, so it probably means running, cycling, swimming, or gym work outs. I'm just about managing this each week but I'm finding this on top of the medication is hard work, and I'm pretty wiped out afterwards. I'm lucky in that I'm retired, if I had a full time job or a young family this would be quite a challenge and it might take several months before I'd built up the basic fitness and to acclimatise to the medication in order to tick this one off the list.

Then there's healthy eating. The NHS and the British Heart Foundation recommend a Mediterranean diet. That's where I am at the moment, but there's plenty of evidence (much of it however contradictory) that a pure vegetarian diet or an ultra low carb diet may have the advantage for heart health. Passions run high in these areas. I'm digging into the evidence and there's really no clear cut answer between these two mutually contradictory options. I'd say there's actually a strong chance that different people will fare better on different diets, so what's optimum for someone else may not necessarily be right for you. One thing though that almost everyone agrees on is just say no to processed foods, sugary drinks, takeaways, biscuits, confectionary, added salt and all the other rubbish that surrounds us in the modern world! That's easy to say, but if you travel a lot in your job, or have a young family, it'll take a massive act of will to get these nasties out of your life, let alone progressing further into true Mediterranean, Low Carb, or Vegetarian diets. This stuff is really important, but it's neither simple nor easy.

Weight is another important one. I'm not obese but I am overweight, and there's no dodging the fact I have to lose weight and then, even more difficult, keep it off for the rest of my life. I am getting there...slowly...but it's clear that a healthy diet and a weight reduction diet are not necessarily the same thing! There are lots of things, like dried fruit or nuts, that get the thumbs up from a health perspective, but are none the less very calorific. I need to be more disciplined about reducing these.

Then there is alcohol. The message from the cardio rehab course was no more than 14 units of alcohol a week and at least two alcohol free days per week to allow your liver to recover. However, the cardiac nurses all believed that even though that was the official line it wasn't strict enough, and actually you need to be at a maximum of half this level. Personally I'm not a big drinker so this was the easiest change to make.

Finally is stress.The simple definition of stress that most makes sense to me is this, "too much to do and not enough time to do it in". The problem for many people is that they have jobs and family lives that mean this is just their daily reality. I sympathise, I'm lucky in that I can set my own agenda, but I accept many people don't have this luxury. Still you have to find a way to do what you can, be that deep breathing exercises or meditation. If you allow stress to become your normal mindset then you'll need a lot of luck to stay healthy.

If I can make all these changes then I believe I've taken responsibility for my heart disease and I'm doing all the main things to achieve my health goals.There are other things besides, but these are the main ones that will make the most difference. If I can tick all these off (and so far at least I'm getting there) then I can honestly say I've done everything I can to keep myself alive and well.

Hope that's useful to you and good luck identifying and making your own life style changes!

[OttoK in reply to Chappychap]

Hi,

Thank you for your very eloquent and useful advice. I just had an aortic valve replacement and a double bypass, leaving hospital last Thursday. I am 74 and always been very active but now intend not to let anything make me stressed. Fear, anger and sadness are quite natural and should simply be acknowledged when they rise up, rather than make one feel inadequate which would be a kind of double punishment. Humour is fine, except it makes the chest hurt. And for an aging hippy like me the slightly hallucinogenic mix of codeine and paracetamol, seems like an old friend. God knows what Mick Jagger has been taking!

All the best to all.

Otto