I’m very grateful to have an appointment with the Cardiac Rehab team tomorrow afternoon.
I have no idea what to expect, other than knowing I may be asked to ride a bike on an angle of some sort.
I spoke to a friend of a friend who has had an appointment like this. She said the staff give you an option - to ride the bike or have an injection that will elevate heart rate. She said if I chose the exercise, staff will encourage me not to stop until they say.
I have to say I’m very unfit. Have led a fairly sedentary life since working from home over the last two years. I was referred after having a stent fitted to fix a 90% blockage in my LAD artery in November 2021. What the staff may not yet know (as referral went in a while ago) is that recently was told I have a moderately leaky aortic valve. I can often feel breathless with fairly minimum exertion.
I wouldn’t want to be injected with something that will elevate heart rate so would rather chose the exercise. Yet I wouldn’t want to feel like I can’t stop if I feel I need to on the day.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received, Sal.
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simplysal
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The cardio rehab team health professionals will assess your heart medical record against your general state of health and mobility, will take on board any comments you make, and will ask you to undertake a programme which matches that, but you will not be forced to do anything against your wishes. Remember they are there to help you recover not make matters worse, and may have dealt with 100s of people like yourself over the years. So go along with an open mind, and hopefully you will derive the maximum benefit.
Hi simply sal. As in my reply above really. The cardio team are there to help you and learn about your capabilities, not punish you! Friends of friends can often be unhelpful - they may think they are preparing you, but as you have found it just makes you worry. Sorry, I have no experience with the injection, someone will be along who has I'm sure. I hope it all goes well for you, try and look at it as providing more pieces of the puzzle to aid your recovery. X
Well put! When I had my exercise stress test I was encouraged to do as much as possible, and maybe a bit more - but at the first sign of genuine struggle testing will cease.
So for my initial test they asked me to do a step test, which involves stepping on to a step about 6 inches high and the stepping down all while your pulse is being monitored. The speed of steps gradually increases but if at any point you feel unwell they will stop the test. As others have said there may be different types of tests to achieve the same results which is to understand your fitness level before rehab so the improvement of doing rehab can be measured. As others have said don't worry they will be experts and look after you well.
Are we confusing Cardiac Rehab with stress testing? My Cardiac Rehab after HA was a 6 week course of 1 hour sessions each involving s short talk on diet/medication/etc and a light exercise session. Your initial appointment will be to assess your suitability for the course and will not be demanding, from memory they take your bp and pulse and talk to you!
Go with an open mind and enjoy the sessions. The nurses are professionals who have helped many people in similar circumstances to yourself.
I have been to a few Cardiac Rehab sessions and never has anyone offered an injection to speed up my heart. An injection to speed up your heart would only be given if a Cardiologist was present so it's not a Rehab thing !!!
I agree this is being confused with a Bruce Protocol Test which is not a Cardiac Rehab function.
ps When I was doing Cardiac Rehab the Nurse and Physio both asked, who did I see in the Heart Failure clinic no one was my reply so I was referred there and then to a Heart Failure Nurse. Rehab works for both getting you ready to exercise and also for diagnosis on what Exercise is appropriate for YOU.
Yes I think that friend of a friend must have been referring to something different. And of course having never been, wouldn’t have picked up on the inaccuracy. Huge thanks for your response 🥰🥰
As others have said, they are there to help you get back to as near normal life as you are able. My cardiac rehab has been at the local gym. First with a 10 week program to get me back into the exercise regime after that I got a cheap membership to carry on the regime. With our local gym the membership gets cheaper the more you use it, this is to encourage you to keep healthy. They will not make you do anything your not able to do. You must try and have a positive feeling for this, they can’t do it for you. I’m sure after a few weeks you will start to feel better. As regards the injection to lift your heart rate only time that has happened is during a stress MRI. Think your friend of a friend is getting their story mixed up! Go with a positive mind you will enjoy it.
Yes I think you’re right. A mix up has definitely occurred. I have to say I am really looking forward to it. Will be nice to get more active again. Massive thanks for your response 🥰
I found rehab brilliant. I was unfit but it worked wonders on my recovery and was paced to my fitness level. I improved massively by week 6. There were no injections or mentions of them. Thoroughly recommended
Cheers Mick! I went on a bike ride with my family on Easter weekend and whilst we hadn’t gone hugely fast, it was lovely! So it’ll be nice again to get on a bike, just without beautiful views lol 🥰
I’m pretty sure your friend was confusing a stress test with rehab. There is no way you’ll be given an injection of any kind. The whole exercise is to give you confidence and do only what you’re comfortable with. Indeed if.necessary you can exercise sitting down!
The cardiac rehab I attended consisted of about an hour's exercise, nothing that was too strenuous, followed by a talk on our future health. It was run by health professionals and was the best thing that I could've done after my quintuple bypass. The hardest thing was finding out just how weak I had gotten during my recuperation. I was the youngest there, at 54, but even Georgina who was in her mid 70's was fitter than me. She was on her last week of rehab though.
That's a valid and interesting point you have made. The participants at the cardio rehab I went to were very diverse in terms of age, fitness, mobility, medical background, ethnicity, social background, and were pretty much equally split between M & F. And presumably because of that there was not a rigid 'one size fits all' approach.
Crikey! I wasn’t referred to Cardiac Rehab after my stent. During a follow up consultation by phone I queried it and after querying it was then referred. I’m so lucky to be able to access it 🥰
I think that there has been a little confusion between Cardiac Rehab and a cardiac stress test. Cardiac Rehab is all about reducing your chances of having another cardiac event by encouraging gentle exercise and changes to your lifestyle. When I undertook my rehab it was once a week for 6 weeks. The team were very nice ,they will have a chat with you before you start and check your heart rate before,during and after the exercise session . There will be talks covering medications and diet . Good luck I’m sure you will find it helpful and give you hope for your future.
Hi I had this test done it can be quite intense as they turn the level up it gets harder I do spin classes so I’m quite fit if you feel your fitness is not the best at the minute I would ask for the alternative I am sure they will they are there to help you - good luck x
I wish I could have accessed one. I had endocarditis followed by AV valve repair at the height of the Covid pandemic when the hospital was extremely stressed, so I was very lucky to get my excellent treatment. Not surprisingly my discharge was incredibly rushed, due to pressure on beds, and when I subsequently enquired about rehab I was informed that it was cancelled for all but heart attack patients. After 6 months I knew that I needed support and arranged for three private physio sessions to get confidence in upper body movement which have helped me enormously.
Take every advantage of any rehab program you are offered, they sound great (whatever they are) and it is bound to help. Good luck.
Post procedure to fit a 48mm stent, I was referred to the Cardiac Rehab team for assessment - which consisted of question and answer (as per comments by 'LowerField) and a walking exercise while frequently having my heart monitored. No bike riding or injections involved. Subsequently I joined a Cardiac Rehabilitation 7-week exercise programme, once a week to build up the heart muscle. My exercise programme was run by the local NHS trust and overseen by professionals in cardiac rehabilitation. I am not an exercise fanatic of any type but since completing the programme I am enjoying regular exercise. As with other comments, your Cardiac Rehab team are there to help. Good luck
My first session was all about assessing my needs. I did a walking test. You walk back and forth with a nurse monitoring your heart rate. You speed up every few minutes until you’ve done enough for the nurse to assess your fitness from which they calculate your target maximum HR for the rest of the programme.
It seems everyone has a slightly different experience, but they have one thing in common - getting you fit and giving you the tools to resume a healthy lifestyle.
Best of luck.
A Cardiac Rehab appointment ? Like gold dust where I am. As others have said this seems to be an assessment prior to you getting rehab. Please don’t worry, they won’t have you leaving worse than when you arrived. Good luck to you on your recovery journey 🌹
I agree - no rehab sessions in my areas either due to 'staff shortages' - sadly a sign of the times so I have signed up to my local gym and they have helped me work out a program of exercise along with the advice of a physiotherapist. Take whatever help you can get would be my advice!
I started writing a reply about my experiences but when it got to 10 pages, decided to scrap it and write a shorter one. First let me say great! you are lucky to get the place on a face to face rehab course. I didn't because I had my 2 cardiac events last year right in the middle of the pandemic hoohaa. That doesn't mean I was ignored, far from it
The nurse running it was in touch from early on. My heart attack was dealt with in one hospital, and my heart failure episode in my local hospital 5 months later. The specialist regional heart centre (45 minutes away by ambulance) organised referral to the rehab team at my local hospital who dealt with my heart failure.
The rehab nurse, a really lovely lady, had been in touch with me and said we would start after all my follow up tests from the hospital were done. Well of course, the 2nd event rather messed that up, but she popped into see me on the ward just as a little Hello I'm ... sort of meeting.
After 4 weeks I had a face to face meeting with her. Just a chat. She had access to all my records said a bit about what had happened and what would happen in rehab. BUT due to the enormous problems the hospital were facing, I would have to do rehab remotely. She signed me up for an app, and daily, still, I enter weight, BP, symptoms, how many pillows I had to use last night etc. It also has loads of educational videos to watch, exercises to do at home, walking exercises, that I report back on etc. I also have her phone number which I have used from time to time.
Were I to have had the events now, then I guess I would have had the full blown rehab in person. But I have to say, rehab is great and has been shown to have a great positive effect on outcomes. The people running it are chosen, I am sure, for their empathy and understanding. And they keep repeating, "Listen to your body" (I do and only hear creaks and groans in reply) "Only do what you feel comfortable with". You'll enjoy it and miss it when it ends. That thing about the stress test is done by the cardiologist's team which is separate.
I had a HA and stent fitted to my LAD (it was 99% deceased) on 25th Feb this year. 6 weeks later I had my cardio rehab appointment. I went dressed appropriately in leggings, trainers etc but it was just an initial appointment with the nurse. She took all my details, checked my meds, BP, HR, weight height etc. She went through what had happened to me etc and things like that.She then informed me I was now on a waiting list to have a telephone appointment with the physio who would set goals etc for me!
I am still waiting. I myself, decided to set my own goals. I wasn’t prepared to sit and do nothing for however long the waiting list was or should I say is!
The nurse did tell me there would be no face to face appointment or group work. It would on my iPad in the form of an app.
So, I am 55 and not over weight, in fact I could do put weight on! I eat very very healthy so I now get up, check my BP etc. Have my medication and my porridge with nuts and dried fruit, a glass of fresh orange and a banana the walk briskly to my local park, around it and then home. Approximately 2 miles. I do this again just after 4pm with my husband and dog, a slower pace as my dog is 13! During the day I garden, all day. House work etc. Meet friends, family.
I don’t push my heart rate as that I think it is for the physio but I can’t wait around for ever.
It is very annoying that the excuse is COVID restrictions. Yet you can now visit relatives in hospitals, well you can in Hull. Go on holiday, theatre etc etc etc.
I feel it has helped my mental health so much setting this daily goal. To be honest I feel great. Fitter than ever considering that my consultant said I was hours, at the most days from cardiac arrest!
Good luck with your appointment, you may be lucky and have the group stuff I so wanted.
Good morning. I thought cardiac rehab was for after surgery....might be wrong but as others have said.....they won't put you under any strain that will be bad for you. Express your concerns about valve leak etc and ask questions before they start anything to put your mind at ease. .... do nothing I am fast learning....don't be frightened to ask!! I am sure it will all be fine and. People on here are brilliant and so supportive with advice as so many have been through all the various stages of investigations etc. I have found that some friends, even though well meaning, are brilliant at offering advice about things they know nothing about so stick to the people who do know lol. Good luck....try not to worry and hope you get sorted
I have had both! 😂 😂So the first one I had was referred to as a stress echo. You have an injection of an adrenaline - mine was administered by a cardiologist who then proceeded to do my echo scan ( ultrasound) it feels a little bit strange as your heart is beating really quickly, but you aren't doing anything! It is designed to check your hearts function and how well it copes under stress.
Now how you describe cardiac rehabilitation is a little bit confusing to me. I was referred to Cardiac rehab after having open heart surgery. I used to go to the gym at the hospital and meet a team of physios and OT's every week along with other patients who were in a similar position. The ultimate goal was to get everyone moving and active again which leads to a healthier heart. The exercise tests for cardiology are done by someone different again here in Wales!
Hello,Lots of good advice here. Don’t worry. The teams are great and will not ask you to do anything that worries or harms you.
My rehab classes started with a walking test ( walking up and down in a local village hall against a beeper/ timer) to establish heart rate parameters. Thereafter it was weekly exercise sessions that are set at an appropriate level to make your heart operate at rates between limits that they have set.
Each session was about an hour with about a dozen others. Heart rate monitored during the sessions. You’ll find your stamina/performance gradually improves.
Everything is geared to exercising your heart whilst you are being carefully watched by friendly, happy nurses and physios.
Hope things go well for you. Just relax into it all.
My initial assessment was just a simple step test, in addition to standard BP tests etc. They calculated the maximum heart-rate I should aim for in exercise.Then I had a couple of weeks of exercise on a bike and exercises I could follow at home. They chose the bike because I have a trapped nerve which is aggravated by treadmill impact, but someone else in the room worked on the treadmill.
After a couple of weeks they referred me to a Cardiac Rehab aerobics class at my local gym, which runs twice a week.
Since I had my stents done in the height of the Pandemic, most of my Cardiac Rehab sessions were phone counselling.
Yes. Your friend is probably referring to a MRI stress test or something similar which they use to assess the condition of your heart after myocardial damage. I've had that and it wasn't pleasant for me. On the other hand, the cardiac rehab stress assessment is simply their way of finding out your current level so that they can design a level of activity for you in your rehab course. In my case it was the step up and down test that someone has already described. Your heart will be monitored during the exercise to see how it's coping, and they will ask you to keep going until you are becoming a little stressed, but you can stop at any time. Beyond that, again in my case, I was on a 6 week course of twice weekly exercise sessions in the hospital gym. I found it very worthwhile. It's good to get the blood pumping and push yourself a bit. Each session was followed by a talk on various aspects of cardiac care by dietitians, cardiologists, pharmacists etc. and finished off with a half hour optional relaxation session The whole thing ran from about 2 till 4pm in the afternoons.
The main thing I wanted to add to other replies is that if you are offered this sort of thing, please grab it with both hands. They do say that the take up is not great which is surprising from people who have had the biggest wake up call. My course started with 12 of us, but by the end there were only half of us left. As a follow up we were offered 2 months free followed by 6 months half price at the government owned gym. I have been the only one to continue into this phase. Such a shame because it does get the adrenaline flowing and makes you feel good.
Rehab varies from place to place. I was initially referred to the cardiac physio who got me to do some strength exercises, sit/stand exercise exercises and I had to do the beep test.
Nothing very strenuous and they certainly didn't talk about any injection. They then told me what would be my optimum heart rate when I started the weekly exercises.
I then started a weekly visit for the rehab with others in the same situation, we did cycling, stepping, weights stamina exercises and I monitored my heart rate so I didn't go over my optimum rate, if I did then I had to walk around the gym.
I finished the 6 sessions on Wednesday and have an appointment to see the physios on Wednesday so they see if there has been any improvements. I believe there is a stage 2 where I can go twice a week to a local gym and again be monitored to see how I get on.
It pushes you but no-one makes you do the impossible,
I went to mine a week ago - it basically was an assessment of how I am now, medication, worries and concerns. Based on that they gave me an exercise programme and diary to record activities achieved and links to online courses and exercises to follow (they are still not doing physical classes due to Covid) A week or so later someone will call me to see how I’m getting on I’m sure they’d not ask you to do any physical exercise you wasn’t capable or confident of doing … It’ll not be anything like you’re fearing. They are there to help and encourage you
Everyone’s health and recovery ❤️🩹 is different as is their treatment x
I have been through cardiac rehab twice 11 years apart and both times I was asked to walk between 2 cones placed 10meters apart. You were on a timer and the time got shorter on each journey until you could do no more. Your pulse and BP were taken before during and after. After you finish your 10 weeks programme they repeat the cone test and see how you have improved. Hope it all goes well
There's no cardiac rehab at all here in Lincoln, cannot even get to see a consultant after 4 months for a check-up. All left to the GP and he doesn't have much interest either.
I count my blessings here in South Wales, as I said earlier I have finished my 6 weekly sessions and next week I have my update then I will be told about what else is available.
The other good thing we have in my County is that over 60's have free entry to all pools in the council area.
Very interesting. I am still waiting for coronary angiography and stenting if necessary. The consultant is keen for me to attend cardiac rehab at one point. I will see how it works out.
I hope all went well with your appointment. I've been involved in Cardiac Re-hab for over 30 years and it is ever changing (my Cardiac event was in 1989). The national guidance is constantly being looked at and your nurse/instructor will have regular re-accreditation every 3 years. Phase 3 which is what the NHS will offer is very supportive and in a safe environment. You will meet people in a simlar position as yourself which again is helpful. Many long term friendships are born in the Re-hab classes and once Phase 3 finishes hopefully your area has a Phase 4 group you can join and continue that supported and social journey. There are assesments and monitoring but nothing that you should worry about and you stop when and if you feel the need to. Good luck and enjoy.
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