Heart attack and stent

[Jodiematty9]

Hi I had a heart attack the 2nd of June where I had a stent fitted I'm just wondering what food I can and can't eat and when I will be able to go out for walks.

[Hidden]

Hello

I am sorry to hear you have had a heart attack which resulted in a stent and I hope your recovery is going well

Can you go for a walk the answer is yes as soon as you feel up to it

I would start with a short walk see how you feel and then gradually build it up your body will let you know how far is far enough and when it says enough then that is how far you should go to start with

Diet wise a lot of course is been sensible cutting out fats , salt , sugar and so on and quite a few on here follow the Mediterranean diet I have put a link to give you some examples

mediterraneanliving.com/

We all know what sensible eating is and if we try and stick with that and watch our portion sizes to it all helps even though the odd treat we all need sometimes

Come and talk with us anytime it is always good to know you are not alone and let us know how you are doing x

[Jodiematty9 in reply to Hidden]

Thank u so much for your reply I will follow the link I'm very nervous at the moment so any help is greatful xx

[Hidden in reply to Jodiematty9]

Hello

Bless you I can see from your profile you are not very old well when you get to nearly 60 like me I think anyone younger is not very old

But let me reassure you this is normal to be feeling as you do it is a life changing event that leaves you feeling insecure

But you have been in safe hands these Consultants and Surgeons know what they are doing and they have opened that artery up for you and the blood will be flowing nicely around your heart now

Give you self time you will get your confidence back and you can come and talk with us whenever you want to x

[Jodiematty9 in reply to Hidden]

Thank u no I'm not that old I'm 35 it has come as a big shock to me and my husband we are so thankful for your help xxx

[Hidden in reply to Jodiematty9]

Hello

You are young at 35 and I can imagine how shocked you must have been at that age we never imagine we are in danger of heart attacks but sometimes it does happen

My Dad was a little bit older than you when he had his first heart attack and I am going back years before they were as advanced as they are now and he lived to be 77 and his heart was still going strong it was something else that took him

So as much as you feel young and it must have shook you to the core remember this happens to younger people but they go on to live long and happy life's and you will once you get back on your feet and you gain your confidence back

Also how lucky we are as well that they can put things right and we get caught in time

I know it is not easy but the fear and negative thoughts try and turn them round for every negative thought write it down and then next to it counteract it by putting a positive one

I have just been talking to a Rehab Nurse who has just seen a patient that had not a stent but a Bypass op 40 years ago and he is still going strong

You will think and read so many negatives but try and focus and look at all the positive stories because there are so many more of those it is just that people like to write and talk more about the negative one's for some strange reason

You are going to be ok x

[Jodiematty9 in reply to Hidden]

Thank u ever so much and I'll do that I'm trying to think positively and I'm just happy that I still get to fight another day xx

[Hidden in reply to Jodiematty9]

You will get to fight many more years not days x

[Jodiematty9]

Thank u I'll have a look at the link also xxx

[Qualipop in reply to Jodiematty9]

When you are invited to go to cardiac rehab which should be about 3 weeks after your HA, do take it up. Not only is the supervised exercise good, it does wonders for your confidence. The main BHF website has hundreds of recipes. I Lost 2 stone without trying by simply cutting out anything fried, pastry, cakes and biscuits and crisps. Recovery is the basic obvious things. Lose weight if needed, no smoking and build up exercise gradually. You will need to let your body get used to the meds; expect lots of bruising from the blood thinners. If any cause problems speak to your GP- there are plenty of alternatives. the shock is the hardest part to cope with. (Counselling is available) Just remember, you've been given a second chance. The immediate problem has been fixed, now it's down to you. Good luck.

[SmokeAKipper]

Normally after a week light walks ... but get in touch with your cardiologist and cardiac rehab... diet yep med diet is good but depends on if you are over weight? Are you pre diabetic? Good news is you are alive... now live your life !

[pasigal]

Welcome to the (not so exclusive) club. In my case, i started with a few hundred meters 2-3x a day after a month of mostly bed rest. (I had cardiac arrest + another HA, +2 stents in addition to the 2 I already had🙂)

Honestly, it took me a full year to get back to where I could comfortably walk 3 miles in up and down terrain. Take it slow! Hydrate! and watch out for the heat -- for some reason it affects me much more than before. Do cardiac rehab if offered. It was very reassuring to exercise in safety.

As for diet...I assume you have coronary artery disease and that cholesterol/plaque is the culprit? if so, you should be on high doses of statins. Those alone will reduce your "bad" cholesterol levels tremendously, much more so than diet.

However, I try to follow a mostly vegetarian diet with lower levels of saturated fat than before. That said...a "cheat" meal here or there is not going to hurt you. My other strategy is that I allow myself a spoonful of ice cream or I'll steal a chip or 2 from my kids. I've tried going cold turkey with hardcore plant-based/no salt etc., and the cravings for the bad stuff have been very intense.

[Jodiematty9 in reply to pasigal]

They haven't said yet what was the culprit I'm just waiting for an appointment with cardiac team thank u for your advice x

[osteoj in reply to Jodiematty9]

It might be appropriate to ask your doctors to check your Lp(a) when they do your bloodwork, if they haven't already done that, as you are so young. I wish you well on your healing journey.

[pjw17]

Hello ,Sorry to hear of your heart event

Have you been on the cardio rehab course ?

This course is essential ,you should have been put on their list ,try and follow this up .

The course will advise on diet and exercise ,please take things easy until you've seen them .

For the present ,I would avoid all rubbish ,take aways ,red meats, processed foods .

As for exercise I would wait for rehab team to have input .

Good luck.

[Jodiematty9 in reply to pjw17]

I have been put on the list I have cut out all junk food and been eatting salads and fruit I am just wondering if I would be okay to walk to the local shops as I'm felling fine in myself x

[pjw17]

I honestly couldn't comment about you walking that's for the experts as they will want you to warm up and cool down before and after and give you the exercises to do this.For me personally it was about 7/8 weeks after HA and stent that I started exercising, I have always exercised /trained I was a racing cyclist ,I had HA whilst weight training .

Can you contact the rehab team in your area and ask ?

[Jodiematty9 in reply to pjw17]

I will try that thank u xxxx

[MountainGoat52]

I went out walking locally with my wife immediately after leaving hospital, but I would say that I was quite fit before my heart attack and regularly went walking in the Scottish hills. Like others have said, build up the distance / time slowly. After a couple of weeks I was up to walking three miles and my wife was happy to let me go out on my own. Initially I walked an agreed route and made sure that I took my mobile phone.

As regards cardiac rehab, I didn't actually get any until over a year later as I was referred for bypass surgery and that put the rehab programme in limbo until I had had surgery. I did however do the kind of exercises shown in the BHF videos to supplement the walking.

I eventually had a series of blood tests to find out the reason for my heart attack and it was discovered that I had a high homocysteine level which made me more susceptible to blood clots. I now take Vitamin B for this. The diagnosis did not actually happen until after my surgery and rehab sessions, but better late than never. It sounds like the cardiac team dealing with your case are more on the ball and I hope you get some answers soon.

[Mtk1]

Hi, and welcome to the group, everyone will be different but your body will tell you when you overdo things, by all means walk to the shop, you could be waiting months to see cardio rehab, depending where you live. I had same as you in March this year and I started walking straight away, maybe just a steady walk to the shops first and gradually building up as you feel stronger, 3 months on I am now walking my 10,000 steps and also cycling and even done a couple of classes at gym, not everyone will be able to do this and like I said we are all different, but I think a lot of our fears can be overcome by a positive attitude, you are very young and you will have years of happy times ahead I’m sure, good luck, Dave

[Jodiematty9 in reply to Mtk1]

Thank u so much i am with the gp today so I will be asking as I think I would go crazy sitting in the house for months why waiting for cardio team xxx

[Mtk1 in reply to Jodiematty9]

Like I said everyone is different, but I feel so much better after getting back on my bike again, the feel good factor has returned to this slightly older man😂 good luck x

[Mac-beats]

I’d recommend you take a look at the book ‘Undo It’ by Dean Ornish, it’s about lifestyle medicine for heart disease and other conditions. It not only covers diet, but stress management and relaxation techniques plus safe exercise.Well worth a read.

Best of luck moving forward, you’ll get better as time goes by.

[Fair1]

High and welcome Jodie you have started your fight back from the right place everyone on here will say it as it is with love and kindness because we all have been through this knock and with everybody’s help we will get you back to where you need to be so anytime you need a chat or something is nagging at you just drop a line on here and boy o boy you will get answers and lots of support based on understanding

[rouluer]

Hi, when I had a heart attack 7 years ago and was fitted with a stent, I went out for walks about 2 weeks after slowly and gradually increased mileage, then eventually went running, cycling and swimming. In regards to food, I went extremely healthy, no saturated fats. I only ate breastless chicken and fish, boiled or baked potatoes, whole grain rice, lots of veges and lots of fruits, water. I didn't touch any junk food for almost 1 year and this paid off in regards to weight loss and management but also energized and my recovery was incredibly good. I didn't drink any alcohol for 9 months. I ate food like mushroom risotto, jacket potatoes with light mayo and tuna, salads, veges, pasta with chopped tomato can made sauce, stayed off cheese pretty much and ate yogurt for dairy and used Almond milk for cereal (mainly porridge with blueberries)...I must admit I don't eat as healthy as this now but I reckon 75% of these foods I still eat. Your body is your temple, this is the way I look at it, respect in every way. Above advice will make you feel great! Best.

[Davey77]

As BeKind says, it's just a matter of how you feel and pacing yourself. I was sent to walk, on my own with my bags, all through to hospital to get to the exit where I was being picked up, the day after the procedure. After the second stent I had to arrange my own taxi and take the, shorter, walk to it at the end of the day because they had no overnight accommodation.From the next day I was walking to the local café, only a few hundred yards, but I did know there was a seat halfway there if I did get tired. 5 months after I started doing a twice-weekly Cardiac Rehab class.

Hopefully, you will have Cardiac Rehab support to advise you on your limits.

[Jules2021]

Hi. Welcome to the group. At the minute you will be feeling very shocked and nervous. For quite a while wven the simplist of tasks like walking to the bathroom had me ready for bed but once you're able to move around the house easily start with a 5 min walk on flat ground. Once you're comfortable with that for few days move it to 10 mins and so on. Hopefully cardiac rehab will be in touch with you soon and they will go through it all The most important thing in the early days is to listen to your body and rest when you need to.

I was 43 when i had my heart attack and stent last year and emotionally it was as big a shock too and i did have counselling to help me come to grips with it.

I wish you all the best for your recovery. Julie xx

[hellenjc]

Be guided by your cardiac rehab team. You should have an appointment for an assessment with them soon. Check this out nhs.uk/conditions/coronary-... and this bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

[Jack2019]

The best thing to do is get your blood circulating, the best way to do that is walk, walk, walk. You may get a brief ping in your chest, that's normal (learned that in rehab). So warm up by walking ridiculously slow, then walk at a pace that gets your heart rate up a bit, then cool down with a ridiculously slow pace. I felt silly walking so slow on warm up and cool down but that was the advice. As time goes on you will soon be feeling great. So move everyday, several times a day if you can. As for diet, zero snacking, watch what you are drinking, lots of calories potentially, include a quality protein in your meals, muscles(heart) are made of protein and heme iron is essential for the blood health.

[Haresear55]

Like others have said, cardiac rehab is important. I had a heart attack in October, stent placed and doing well. For the first month, my energy was a bit low but improved in rehab when started at end of November. Completed rehab in March and now do mostly walking. Feeling better as well as reducing some medications.

Take care and we are here to support you!

[Lebowski1]

Hi, I had a STEMI heart attack two weeks before you (I'm 41 years old). It came as a huge shock to me as I'm classed as pretty fit and healthy with no previous issues. Mine was caused by a clot that they could not explain as there were no obvious reasons for it, i wasn't stented. I can fully understand how you feel at the moment. I came home from hospital 3 days later, my first walk was the next day (I managed a mile with no ill effects at a slow pace). This first walk really helped to build confidence, I have gradually built up to around 5 miles a day starting to introduce hills on my doctors advice. I have my forst rehab meeting next week. I'm gaining confidence each day and reading all of the positive posts on here have really helped. I feel well physically but have found it hard to come to terms with mentally, being open and talking to friends and family has really helped.

I'm taking the attitude that this was just a reminder of just how great life is and to enjoy it and take care of myself.

You've got this!!