Hi everyone, I'm new on this, so not sure how this works, but here's my question. Two days ago my father had a heart attack. He will be returning home tomorrow, and I wanted to know how best to support his recovery. What can I do; emotional support? Physical support?
He also has mobility issues because of bad knees, what types of exercises would be appropriate for him.
The hospital are usually very good in giving you a programme for recovery and a support line
Okay thank you will check it out
A rehab nurse should be in touch ( Probably by phone now) in about 3 weeks. Unfortunately because I am disabled, our rehab had no facilities for exercise and I had to basically make it up as I went along. Don't encourage him to just stay in bed. He will need to rest and take it slowly but move regularly even just going to the toilet. . He's bound to feel shocked and worried that it could happen again but you need to assure him he's in a far better place now than he was and on medication that wlll help prevent another one. His ability will depend on how much damage was caused so let him play it by ear and remember his tablets may need adjusting . If he's getting dizzy or breathless, do consult his GP. Suddenly facing your own mortality is a shock and it takes time to get over that. I was lucky my heart attack was mild. I had two stents fited, changed my diet, stopped smoking and look on it as a second chance. They fixed the immediate problem with stents. Now I can do the rest. The BHF website has some great advice on diet and recipes.
Thank you so much, your advice has really helped.
What types of exercises did you make up?
I didn't do excises as such. I can only stand for a couple of minutes. I just made sure I kept moving around, going upstairs instead of using my stair lift when I could, not sitting for long periods, at first just walking down the drive and back then I would push my wheelchair for a walk so I could sit in it when i needed to. I bought a simple step counter for my wrist and tried to increase my steps every day. When I had recovered more I tried little bits of gardening , mostly while sitting on a stool. I would really have felt better if I'd been able to go to rehab where I knew the nurses could monitor me and here were people in a similar circumstance but hey wouldn't let me even try. At the start I was afraid to even try to do things which is normal but day by day I could do a bit more. Just tiny steps. The rehab nurse wlll send a book of advice if she can't be seen in person
Dear Q
My rehab is a lot of walking. And a small amount of trunk exercises.That was fine for three weeks an I was managing best part of a mile. Then i had a very bad gout flare and have been unable to walk for three weeks. Do you have any ideas about an alternative to walking ? And now i am way behind schedule, i guess i just pick up where i left off. There is no follow up nor rehab open because my op was in the hiatus of corona.
Colin
Thank you so much for your reply, it's really reassuring to hear about your experience.
It's been a major shock to the whole family, but we're trying to focus on his recovery.
I also wanted to ask, if you wouldn't mind sharing, what changes to your diet did you make ( long term/ short term), for example were there certain foods you cannot eat in the following weeks after a heart attack, or is it just a balanced portion control diet from now on. Any vitamins/minerals to recommend?
Thanks again
😂 oh okay that's good to here thank you!
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