Hi, I'm new to the forum. Has anyone who has had a triple bypass successfully resumed their skiing career? Thanks

[Deserrol]

I'm a seasonal ski instructor and international ski coach, typically spending 6-8 weeks in the Alps during the season and throughout the year in the UK. Am wondering whether this is now, post-bypass, a realistic proposition.

[Chappychap]

100% yes.

I'm not a skier, but now that I'm retired I spend a lot of time afloat, be it whizzing around the Solent on a RIB or longer voyages under sail. I also exercise regularly and walk for miles. Here's my wife and I about 18 months after my triple bypass.

Assuming the operation is a success then just get your head in the right place and it really can be business as usual. Good luck!

Axopar

[Deserrol in reply to Chappychap]

Thanks Chappychap. So you are generally as mobile as you want to be? I'm averaging 20k/steps a day and in week 4 from procedure. My head's in the right place - just need to make sure the body will follow...

[Chappychap in reply to Deserrol]

Four weeks following the operation is still very early days. Even though you can be notionally fit enough to go back to a desk job after as little as six weeks, the trauma that your sternum and chest muscles have undergone will take much longer to recover. For some people it can be up to a year, but I'd guess most people are looking at six months before they're fully recovered and returned to their previous strength and mobility.

Actually "fully recovered" is a misnomer, many people report that following a bypass they're quite a bit better than before! There's usually been a debilitating angina effect before the bypass, it may have happened so slowly that you weren't aware of it, but that gets swept away by the operation and your heart is back to full capacity. My guess is by the 2022 season you'll be an even better skier than you were before!

The only thing to remember is that our underlying atherosclorosis will never go away, but with medication and lifestyle changes most of us can reduce the progress of our disease to a crawl. It really is worth a root and branch review of your previous life style to try and identify what factors might have driven your heart disease? For some people it's blindingly obvious, for others it can be more subtle factors like gum disease, sleep apnea, stress related high cortisol levels, passive smoking, or many other factors. To keep enjoying your skiing for many years to comes you need to track down those causes and eradicate them.

Good luck!

[Deserrol in reply to Chappychap]

Great stuff Chappychap! Many thanks 😀

[MountainGoat52]

Totally agree with Chappychap. My leisure interest is hill walking and I was back on some of the smaller hills in Scotland three months after my bypass, as soon as I could comfortably wear a backpack. A month later on a three day outing in the Southern Uplands, the only concession was that I let my friend do all the driving. Once out on the hills it was immediately noticeable that my performance had improved. I hope that you find the same, but do take it in stages so you do not overdo it initially .

[Hanibil]

Hi I haven’t had a bypass but have had a aortic valve replacement and an aortic repair. I ski and mountain bike without any problems .

[Lonmayloon]

Hi Deserrol, I first experienced angina symptoms about ten years ago during a skiing holiday. Within six-eight weeks I had a stent fitted to the LAD. I also have a family history of heart disease. So not the same treatment as you but similar disease and background.

Chappychap offers excellent advice concerning recovery from the major operation you’ve just been through.

As far as skiing is concerned, we bought a house in the French Alps, and get out there as much as possible. The season before lockdown I clocked up 66 skiing days on my season ticket, most of them first lift to last lift, so fairly long, hard days. Lockdown has prompted me to take up running to try and maintain fitness but can’t wait to get back on skis.