Hi All
Does anyone know when does cardiac rehab start please? My husband had a bypass 4 and a half weeks ago. We thought cardiac rehab would have started. But the cardiac consultant said that my husband will get cardiac rehab only after he sees him next week?
Is that normal?
Thanks in advance
Hi, I was not allowed to start until I had had my post op consultation with my surgeon many weeks later. Need to check healing has gone well and t s safe to do.
Dear SRDS
I don’t think that there is any normal for the NHS in the present circumstances.
I had OHS 1st May 2020 and still have not been offered any rehab. So I do what I can. When hubby sees GP perhaps he should enquire about what level of exercise is safe for him.
I would not wait on rehab.
Sorry if this is negative.
I got OHS when all local hospitals were closed. Wonderful treatment and life saving op. Brilliant health care when push came to shove.
Best wishes
Sooty
Thanks Sooty. For sharing your experience. Appreciate it
Dear SRDS
Not sure what normal is but I’m 6 months + after open heart surgery and have still not been invited to the party.
My Nurse says that this is not unusual in our hospital.
Like many here I did not wait to join the exercise class {re-hab} and started {with the advice of the cardiologist} to gently ease myself back to fitness.
All the exercises are online, But wait until you get the go ahead to start, maybe like I did, ask the question at them and not us?
Good luck with it all
Thanks Blue1958. Will do
Yes that is true. Thank you for your reply
My hubby saw his consultant at 8 weeks post op and started rehab a week later.
After my triple bypass rehab started six weeks after my procedure. Think different area may have their own timings. You should receive an invite letter advice on availability.
I had aerotic valve surgery surgey December have not had any rehab, just keep going for walks
Thank you Wellington19. Yes we will keep doing that.
I had OHS end of March 21. Cardiac rehab was scheduled to start about 7 weeks post op which coincided with my post op telephone check with my consultant. Before then wouldn't have been suitable as it would have been too soon as the body needs to have got to a certain point with healing. However, due to Covid, rehab just consisted of some phone calls - good to be able to get some queries answered but not really rehab. Once I knew face to face sessions had restarted, I got my GP to refer me back and have just finished 8 sessions of rehab at the gym. This has really helped my confidence.
I had my AVR op in December and have a referral for rehab in April - so don’t hold your breath !! I’m super fit and fine though so it’s not a problem !
The rehab isn’t usually just exercise - it is usually talks on diet, medication, wellbeing etc too.
You could try ringing the Cardio rehab team. Mine was a bit complex as it was during the worst ravages of the pandemic and I was under the care of the regional heart hospital, but for my convenience rehab was through the local hospital. My cardiologist wanted to do more tests and check if more stenting was needed (it was according to MRI etc) so when I phoned the Rehab nurse, she said we couldn't start till everything was sorted, but she gave me loads of advice and signed me up to an app which had lots of explanatory and education videos. It was just as well, as I then developed this heart failure stuff. But I kept talking to her and finally could start even though it was all distance stuff.
I'm four weeks after an HA and stent fitted, and have been invited to cardiac rehab sessions starting at the end of this month (so would be 6 weeks after).
It's still a postcode lottery at the moment, I'm afraid. My health trust aren't offering any face to face rehab, just phone/video calls and a sheet of exercises. In the next borough along, cardiac rehab (I enjoyed it so much I'm now a volunteer with them!) is back up and running, but fully booked with a long waiting list.
Welcome, sounds like you also need reassurance that there is not something else. It's a difficult journey, not only for the patient but family. It is normal to wait for recovery, and that review before rehab. Even though hospitals are going through difficult times and rehab not always available there, I've heard that online rehab is available. There is no, one size fits all, so many variables. Make sure you also take care of yourself. I'm sure everything is fine. Moni
Hi - in my case, I had a clot (thrombus) in my ventricle following the "big" heart attack. Apparently a clot is common after a HA. They wouldn't let me start cardiac rehab until they were satisfied the clot had cleared, for which I was prescribed Rivaroxaban, among other things. It took about six weeks before they put me on the rehab course. It was the best thing ever because I threw myself into it over the 8 week course (which was online once a week / via an app the rest of the week which they could see at their end that I was doing it) and have kept my exercise regime since. 20 months on I am now back running three times a week. Appreciate your husband has had a bypass which is different to my HA, however we can and do recover from these things if we put the work in. I hope this helps and provides some assurance. All the best, Graham.
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