HF and exercise

[Seaguller]

Hi. Sine HF diagnosis have lost a lot of confidence re physical exercise. This despite before diagnosis was quite active! My cardiologist has put no limit on my activity. Any suggestions from people with HF who were new to exercise or returning to it please?

[Hidden]

Start small and work your way back up. Find something you like doing and use that as a base. It matters not what it is as long as you do it. Cycling is good especially if you live in a flat area and/or you have an off road trail near you (such as a converted old railway line). I have recently put an electric motor kit on my bike and I can adjust how much effort I input which has transformed cycling. It is especially useful going up steep hills, and I can go much further should I choose to do so, and frankly I enjoy cycling much more than before.

[RufusScamp in reply to Hidden]

See if there are any cardio rehab classes in your area. | found them very helpful. Otherwise, I was told try and do something every day, to get slightly out of breath, but still able to hold a conversation.

[Mtk1 in reply to Hidden]

Just a note of caution, I read an article yesterday about conversion kits on bikes causing fires when getting charged, I’m not saying yours will, only saying what I read. Dave.

[Hidden in reply to Mtk1]

Thanks for the warning. 👍

[Shar28]

Walking is great to start with as you can tailor it to you, you can do it any time of day or even several times a day if you want, it’s free, no special equipment needed, outdoors all year and sociable. Some areas have walking groups via GPS or council which focus on being gentle and fun.

Best wishes for the future.

[Hidden]

Hello you,

Some good advice so far, I think the secret is doing something that you enjoy with the emphasis on moving, and not so much fixated with the word exercise.

Just think about moving more, you will be surprised how much you don’t once you are tuned into it.

My escape was running, I say escape because I always fail when I put the label of exercise on anything, but due to a few complications I am not allowed to raise my heart rate to much at the moment so walking is ideal for me at the moment.

I stand at my desk when I am typing away {including this } and ok I may not win a mr universe competition, but for a man having had open heart surgery and a CRT-D fitted, Im not holding up to bad.

Weight became an issue until I got a grip of it and realised that I could not eat the volume of food that I was eating in my running days {simple but easily overlooked}

We have chatted before and I think that it is remarkable after all you have gone through that you are once again regaining control of your health.

Please don’t worry if you fail a few times, just remember what you did to get to that fail stage and push a little harder past it the next time.

Take care and good luck

[Anon2023]

Hi. I’m halfway through my cardiac rehab classes and they’ve been great. They reckon you need 3 x 30 cardio workouts a week and 30 mins moderate exercise every other day. I tend to walk a lot as it’s less restrictive. I’m sure you will be fine but if you haven’t exercised for a while you’ll need to build your confidence up. Obviously in cardiac rehab classes you’ve got health professionals on hand if there are any problems so it’s a good way to start. The only caution they gave was that while swimming is excellent it’s very easy to overdo it as heart pain (such as angina) can’t be felt so acutely when you factor in the pressure of the water. I don’t like swimming so wouldn’t know but that’s what they’ve said. I’m probably telling you stuff that you already know so I’m sorry if that’s the case. Best wishes 😊

[Putterguy]

Hi Seaguller, I was quite active before my hf diagnosis. Once diagnosed it took me a long time before I had the confidence to start mild exercise. I started short walks, lots of rest afterwards. Then extended them to 5k per day. After 3 months I started rehab which was at my local gym. Then back to golf( now with a buggy). Start slow and build up to give you confidence. I now walk 3 days per week, rehab twice per week and golf 3 times per week. Plus lots of resting. Hope this helps.

[Crofton23]

This is why I love this group. I had a 2nd heart attack 6 weeks ago. This time I had 3 stents fitted. I’m hoping to be able to go to rehab. I have lost a bit of confidence with exercising but reading all your helpful comments have been helpful and reassuring. Thank you all.

[maggykriti]

There are some encouraging comments here about exercise with heart failure. I was diagnosed with left sided diastolic heart failure and pulmonary hypertension this year. My cardiologist told me to walk gently for 30 minutes each day. I asked if I could swim but he said no I could only walk around the pool. That was a bit disappointing. I think like you the hf has made me more conscious that my exercising has slipped rather than improved. I need encouraging too!

[BHF_1]

Hi Seaguller, you might find some useful tips in this article: bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo.... Good luck with returning to exercise.