My husband was referred for cardiac rehab to our local hospital. However, the hospital told us that they are dealing with a huge backlog and hence it will take a lot of time before he gets an appointment. Does anyone know of an alternative? I registered him on the bhf Weekly email thing for rehab. Not sure what that is but will see when they send the email. I am a but unsure about getting him to follow videos as I think that such exercises after cabg has to be monitored?
Any advice will be much appreciated as usual.
Also I have been reading all the posts on here and try to give back in terms of advice. The people on here have helped me so much. 🙂
Thanks everyone
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SRDS
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Check with local gyms to see if they run any cardio rehab - the hospital should have suggestions. I had to wait 4 months for the initial rehab at the hospital. Afterwards I moved onto a local gym where they had a specialist trainer who monitored BP, HR, etc. Your cardiologist should give you a max. HR as with medication like Bisoprolol it will be lower than the online calculation.
Beware of personal trainers who like posing for selfies as some are totally clueless to our issues! ☹️
Thanks MichaelJHI have been trying to look into local gyms after I read your post. I cannot find anything. I will keep looking. Will also the gp too. Hopefully will get something.
Some councils have Sports, Health & Wellbeing Hubs. At that time (I have moved) my local council had information it was just hard to find. My trainer worked with multiple gyms as she specialised in cardiac rehab. She did it via Zoom when gyms were closed and still does some I believe. If he hasn't got them it is worth getting a BP monitor and a pulse/O2 one.
Pure gyms are running a campaign with British Heart foundation so have a look at one near you or look on their website. Our pure gym has a trainer qualified for this and i used her.
There are the daily basics, sometimes referred as huffnpuff. So do these every day. Then there is walking. Not fast, just gentle. Perhaps a mile. Chat whilst he walks (he should chat, not you !)
But he needs rehab in addition. And it is unlikely to be on the NHS. Try asking the GP receptionists. Try your local church. Look at physios who are offering various types of yoga.
Good recovery is unlikely without rehab. I have been on the NHS list for two years and it is obviously never going to happen. Because my op was at the beginning of the closure of NHS services, the cardiac section can not really cope with current rehab cases, so I have not a chance.
I am 74 so being immobile is not the end of the world. But at 41 it is in my opinion, essential to get on with rehab.
Sorry I have to disagree with your comment that good recovery is unlikely to happen without rehab. After my HA I was refused rehab because I'm in a wheelchair. They said I wouldn't be able to do it. SO I DID- on my own. I'm now 4 years on; still in a wheelchair but doing fine. Rehab here was useless. They just gave me a book and said change your diet and stop smoking bye bye. Never heard from them again. Pester them, ask to go on a cancellation list, point out your age and need to work, anything you can think of. JUst speaking to someone different to your assigned nurse could come up with more ideas. They shoudl be able to advise where else to go.
Should is not the same as could. They told me of a place that worked with wheelchair users but there was no heart supervision or special knowledge. It was ayear before I ran again, got the person in charge who told me I could have asked to see a different nurse. The one I saw just once decided there and then I wouldn't be capable. She didn't ask or give me the option to try anything. Too late by then as they had discharged me so it does pay to phone and keep asking for alternatives or to go on a cancellation list
Well done for working at your own rehab..I should have written good recovery unlikely if you don’t carry out some rehab. You are the living proof that it doesn’t have to be under professional supervision.
Thank you but it is far better for the patient's mind to have that support from a knowledgeable nurse; if only for reassurance. It just seems to me that cardio departments fix your plumbing, give you a load of tablets and throw you out and just leave you to your GP. I know I didn't get so much as an explanation of what had happened, why or even what all the tablets were for. The discharge letter that arrived a few weeks later was so scientific you needed a medical degree to understand it. I was fortunate that I had an echo done just minutes before I left to go home and the person who did it said, sort of a throw away remark " Oh good the damage is minor" or I would have known nothing. Would it really be so hard for the consultant or registrar ( Who I never saw after my angiogram) to give patients a brief explanation of why they've had such a life changing event and how to improve things. They even tell people they have heart failure with no explanation at all. The phrase alone is enough to give someone a heart attack through worry.
I was advised to walk, perhaps a mile, at a gentle pace and to chat as I walked. Pottering around the garden is not sufficient, we need to get out and walk.More important are the daily exercises that take just ten minutes.
I was shown these exercises whilst in hospital. Failing that, try looking at this site and then ringing for details/approval.
We are a similar age. I also had aortic valve replaced.
The absence of rehab is just mad. All those brilliant surgeons etc and now no follow up.
Yes there is the mental side, but if we can do the right exercises we might not need mental stuff.
Cardiac Rehab is something we can all do ourselves, well the exercise bit is. Rehab doesn't fix anything !! What it does do is gives you support to make you feel OK about MILD exercising in company with others, after having an event.
Cardiac Rehab Once a week for 6 weeks is not going to do a lot for a damaged Heart. In my personal opinion it is it is a there to assist patients with the Mental side of a cardiac Event.
I sometimes wonder if Cardiac Rehab could be one of the Services offered by the NHS that could be undertaken by Local Authority Gyms and even outfits like David Lloyds, Just to add the reason for this thought is it is readily available and could be increased without someone having years of training.
Do we need a Nurse and Physiotherapist ?? I really think they would be better employed in a Hospital setting. I know it's only a few hours, but it may get the waiting lists down a little bit but hey ho this is just a personal opinion not looking for a fight with anyone.
Hi Prada47. The rehab classes I have done are a lot more than just exercise. They are run through the NHS with local providers who are Cardio trained, and have a direct line to hospital staff. Most of us here, who have been through it find it an absolute life-line and a huge contribution to our getting back to a near normal life. I certainly have much more knowledge and a much healthier attitude to my heart, food, stress and exercise.I don’t think you wanted much debate, so I apologise.
Hi…. AVR and double bypass on 26 Feb 2020 age 67. All rehab cancelled because of lockdown so never had any.Breathing exercises and walking are the key to recovery, along with protection of the sternum till it heals by avoiding lifting anything heavier than “a half filled kettle”.
I judged my progress by how far I could get along a country lane, and gradually increasing the distance. I think it’s important to have a companion with you, in my case my dog, to make sure you do it, rain or shine.
2 years later I’m as fit as I ever was and can easily manage 14k steps a day.
Good luck to your husband: it’s not easy, but it is nothing like as difficult as I feared it would be.
Hello, I had OHS in November aged 49 and my only rehab has been by phone and photo copy (very unclear) of exercises to do.I was told in the beginning slow flat walking was best (as the heart is a muscle and needs to recover) until 8 week review by surgeon.
After all confirmed ok I was allowed to go faster.
As for rehab if I wanted more I needed to arrange this privately but they must have a class 4 BACPR qualification which I think costs about £40 per half hour. Physio phoned 4 times to see how I was doing but would have liked face to face rehab.
At 4 months with a healed sternum was told brisk walking for 30 minutes getting out of breath 3 times a week.
Last week I went swimming and only did 20 lengths as was scared but no effects so will try 30-40 this week.
Good luck to you both - I’m fairly local to you had surgery in Wolverhampton but referred to Shropshire for rehab
I have a Kardia that does ECG’s from Amazon, mines a 3 lead which is cheaper and my consultant thinks they are brilliant. I bought an Apple Watch, I did have a fit bit but they’re not as comprehensive. The Apple Watch has exercise ‘app’.
I was sent to my local council gym to do my Cardio rehabilitation. So it might be worth asking there. Or your gp might be able to refer you and get it free. Good luck Brian
I had an aortic valve replaced three years ago. There was no rehab available for my type of operation, only for bypass patients. I wrote a letter to my consultant, my surgeon, and my GP. I finally got accepted for rehab. Before that I felt abandoned and got quite low. Was my heart OK ?was my sternum as strong again? When I went for my interview pre rehab. I was told that every thing was OK. I wept with relief. I needed that reassurance mentally. I got part way through the rehab when we had to stop because of covid. But the mental benefit from just that chat was amazing. So rehab or not, its OK in general to start regaining your confidence by walking and gradually pushing yourself as people above have said.
SRDS I had the same owing to Covid all rehab stopped in my area, so I knew that it’s important to start some exercise so walking moving and maintaining strength is important BUT within your own limitations. I believe hospital Cardio and Physio depts can send you some exercise regime's Good luck 👍 .
I am 7 months after my triple bypass - before every thing happened, I spent most of my life in a gym- 6 days a week, training hard for powerlifting competitions and also training people.I didn't really want to go to rehab, so I walk every day- I walk my dog in the morning, it's not a long walk- but I take a walk later on before dinner- maybe a 30 min walk - and at the weekends- me and the wife walk for an hour.
I also went and bought some dumbbells - so I try and exercise with these when I can.
I plan to go back to work after Easter- I am 63 years old this year and I am a builder - maybe work for a couple of more years and that's it.
People are different - as Prada47 said - Cardiac Rehab is something we can all do ourselves, but it is up to the individual - I have always been motivated - I hoover the house every day and I have never smoked for 7 months ( I smoked for 35 years before ) - only that is a big help for me.
If I had the money- I would build a little multi gym at home with a treadmill - I still may do this, but at the moment I am glad summer is coming and I can do all my rehab out in the countryside and get this lovely fresh air.
Hi - I was lucky enough to get rehab classes but the online ones available on You Tube are exactly the same routines as you would experience if you were in person. Not quite the same I know but better than nothing. Just start gently and monitor your pulse so that you exercise within safe ranges. They start off very gently.
Hi SRDS - I decided to do cardiac with a wonderful person via Zoom called Angela of Healthy Hearties. Yes, it is private but honestly it is worth every penny and you can join in with classes with other people who have been through the same thing. Angela is kind, supportive and completely knows her stuff as not only is she a trained personal fitness coach she is also a cardiac nurse too. Google Healthy Hearties to see if it might be good for your husband. All the best to him
I guess I must be one of the lucky ones. I had my "events" during the heights of covid, though to honest, I think the ravages of the pandemic are worse at the moment. I couldn't do Cardiac rehab at classes but did have a rehab nurse. We spoke by phone and I had a session (face to face) with her once. She set me up on a rehab app. I think it was put together by the cardiac team at Bournemouth hospital. There are loads of educational videos on it and also I have to fill in info on it everyday. Questions about symptoms and weight, then I enter BP. There are a number of exercise videos, walking, a timed video of walking around places near to Bournemouth -different lengths upto 30 minutes walking. These are recorded on your activity diary, and the gym type exercises at different levels of difficulty - with lots of advice for preparing for them. Then other activities are recorded such as daily steps. The app is called my.mhealth. I live in sheltered housing (I am very old) and we have a lady come once a week to run an exercise class. She is very medically aware, is conscious and knowledgable about all our various issues, monitoring everyone of us continually.
I have concentrated on the walking mainly and despite a couple of set back when I tried to show off doing a bit more than I should, have increased my ability up to 8000 steps a day. Some of it indoors with the app video and some outdoors, walking about looking for hill-free routes. I'm aiming for 10k steps a day comfortably.
I started late last summer with 200 metres using a walking stick and very slowly increased it all the time remembering the mantra - Listen to your body
I was lucky 9 years ago and had hospital cardiac nurse led rehab and then joined gym based rehab sessions led by a physio specialising in 'Phase 4' rehab. He still does this now online by Zoom and you can find him at this link phase4rehab.co.uk/about.html.
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