What did you enjoy about cardiac rehab and what did you think was missing?

[Healthyhearties]

Morning!

What did you find was the most helpful thing about cardiac rehab? And was there anything that you felt was lacking from it?

[Blackcatsooty]

the written advice to walk slowly, whilst chatting to a friend, was the best.

The worst bit is my exclusion from the physical sessions, apparently because my op was during the period when cardiac wards were nearly all closed.

Sooty

[Healthyhearties in reply to Blackcatsooty]

sorry to hear you missed out on the exercise part, glad you managed to get some advice though!

[Hidden]

Hello

I am agoraphobic so never got to go to the classes and feel I have missed out on so much which has hindered my recovery

Be good to read other replies I could get some tips x

[Healthyhearties in reply to Hidden]

sorry that you weren't able to go. Did they give you a home or online program to follow?

[Hidden in reply to Healthyhearties]

Hello

No but they said they would

It has been over a year and still waiting and every time I contact them they say they are still looking into it ! x

[Healthyhearties in reply to Hidden]

that's awful!

What have you managed to do by yourself?

[Hidden in reply to Healthyhearties]

Hello

If I am honest not a lot

For me I sort of know what to do but what I lack is the confidence and when you feel out of breath for example not having that Rehab Nurse there for reassurance to keep going this is a huge downfall for me

I have asked and asked if just say 6 sessions someone could come and just be by my side check I am doing the exercises ok and help me with my confidence but nothing

I know resources are stretched and I appreciate that but then people like me just do not get that start we so need and it does make you feel sad and upset as you so want it

I keep hoping though x

[devonian186 in reply to Hidden]

Do you walk? After my quad by pass 4 months ago I am now back to walking 10000 steps a day and due to the nature of the local terrain (very hilly) I can include slopes of varying steepness. Yesterday I was walking on Dartmoor.

I still get breathless some days and am ok some days so why that should be I don't know but I can normally walk through it.

All of that gives good general exercise added to using my lungs.

[Hidden in reply to devonian186]

Hello

With me been agoraphobic I cannot get out to walk anywhere but I walk round the house and garden and keep going up and down stairs

Sounds like you are doing really well x

[devonian186 in reply to Hidden]

I would like to build up my stamina but it is still relatively early days.

We flew to Scotland for a short break last September and after being in lockdow* for so long or deliberately staying away for people, I felt overwhelmed and nervous when we stopped off at a large garden centre for a coffee en route. The space, the crowds unnerved me and I appreciated what people such as you must feel. Has this condition always been with you or come on in recent times?

[Hidden in reply to devonian186]

Hello

You are the first person since lockdown that has said to me that been in lockdown has given them some insight as to what it must be like having agoraphobia as I said all through lockdown I wonder if it will help people now to get a glimmer of what my life is like every day

I have always been an anxious person never really liked been out but I took ill when I was out 20 years ago and without me realising it I started finding excuses and ways of not going out through the fear it could happen again and before I knew it I had made myself agoraphobic

How long is it since you had your op if you do not mind me asking x

[gilreid1]

undoubtedly the closeness of the class (14) patients all having gone through more or less the same procedure. And the understanding of the nurses who could not have done anymore. Overall at times emotional and a sense of achievement after the eight weeks.

[Healthyhearties in reply to gilreid1]

that's great!

[Hidden]

Yup same as BeKind28, still waiting......................{ nearly a year }...............

[tapfoot in reply to Hidden]

Me too. Over 2 years and still waiting. I found some initial classes online but have been scared to try anything other than that unsupported in case I do more harm than good.

[Hidden in reply to tapfoot]

felt the same, luckily a guy the local gym that I went to was fully trained { not just a muscle poser } and gave me some basic stuff to be getting on with and I do mean basics, like boring sit ups and army style swat jumps! but they seem to be keeping mr fat at bay { for now } take care

[tapfoot in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for that. I really need to chase up the rehab as the thought of a gym terrifies me, and I'm now being 'investigated' for lung conditions.

[Hidden in reply to tapfoot]

Sorry to hear about the new investigations that you need , I wish you all the best with them and no I don't go to the gym anymore, I do the exercises at home.

Take care

[EU95PTM]

For me, the best bit of the cardiac rehab was the support and encouragement of the staff running the sessions. I felt safe and well supported and monitored. However, I didn’t connect with anyone in my rehab classes. I’m a young(ish) female and everyone attending was male and much older.

[MrsSuzuki]

I was never invited to a rehabilitation class as Lincolnshire hadn't opened up again in January this year, just after my heart attack. It's a lottery.

I spent the first couple of months feeling sorry for myself, and it was really cold, so didn't get out much. Then I decided to pick myself up by my boots and joined the East Lindsey heart group and go out walking with them every week. Plus I get out every day and walk.

Lily

[Outlander2 in reply to MrsSuzuki]

We like you Lily live in Lincolnshire and my wife had 3 stents fitted on 1st Sept 2021 and was discharged from hospital on the 2nd Sept. Follow up has been nil. I have chased cardiac service and in the end had one over the pphone consultation with a nurse in Nov and we were told that we would get an appointment in Dec for a follow up. In the meantime my wife has become more housebound and will not venture outdoors. We have a phone appointment at the end of the month with the cardiac people.

[MrsSuzuki in reply to Outlander2]

It's really appalling isn't it. I really feel for your wife. I've rung the cardiologists secretary numerous times and the only contact I've had was with a cardiac nurse, who to be fair, was very good on the phone. It seems that they are taking most of the pressure off the cardiologists.

We are seriously thinking of moving back to Yorkshire as the GP in this part of the world is pretty useless too.

Lily

[anke123]

Support from others was good, I found some of it got a bit boring. For weeks all I did was walking round the room, while being timed by a physio and on an other day cycling, after some time they added weights and using a rowing machine. The talks abourt medication, exercise and haelthy eating were good too.

[RufusScamp]

I found the part of the course I attended very helpful - two exercise sessions a week, and one lecture/discussion. Unfortunately, the Dread Plague meant I lost the last few weeks. They did send me an exercise programme to follow at home. I regret to say I was not over-zealous about following it...

[francesw47]

the company of others in similar situations and the exercise classes........

[Mentdent]

I live in West Shropshire so I didn’t get any Cardiac rehab. The best Royal Shrewsbury hospital could manage was one phone call to tell me they were closed because of that will shall not be named.

[Reuben52]

My AVR and double bypass took place on 26 February 2020, for which I will be eternally grateful.

Unfortunately, when I returned home from the operation the whole world had changed. All rehab provision had been cancelled and I was on my own.

Two things guided me through my recovery: the advice I received from the physios just before discharge from hospital and this amazing forum.

Oh, and my dog.!

I used to judge my progress by how far we could walk up a local country lane from the same start point, gradually increasing the distance each day.

I’m happy to report that we managed to return to our former walk lengths a lot sooner than I anticipated and I now regularly walk more than 10 to 15k steps a day again.

Many thanks to those of you on here who regularly provide invaluable help and support.

Especially you, Pauline!

[devonian186 in reply to Reuben52]

Reuben

The one good thing was that you came out before the madness started. Things might have been very different if you had gone in a month later

[PeterpPiper]

everything was missing as I didn’t get any rehab ( my event was mid lockdown ) comforting phone chats tho

[Duvetdays15]

How to approach exercise to always warm up, go slow to start then build/speed up and always slow down at the end was very helpful in my recovery. The rest of the cardio rehabilitation I found boring to be honest. The first session I felt like I wanted to cry, being 49 female and in a room full of 60+ aged men I definitely felt like why me?

[Wellington19]

I had aerotic valve and partial myectomy at st barts didn't get any rehab at all just told to keep walking, you were lucky to get some

[Adhtz21]

The whole thing was missing for me…due to the lockdown. I was really looking forward to it but ended up with a few telephone calls and an exercise sheet. No scar guidance and techniques so ended up with a huge keloid scar now requiring fairly regular steroid jabs.

[Mac-beats]

Got my rehab at NHS Tayside in Dundee, it was excellent apart from the advice about nutrition which was very limited. That was 7 years ago, maybe it’s better now. Just grateful to get rehab and of course it was completely free. We’ve a lot to be grateful for in this country despite its glaring imperfections.

[Androidius]

I had a Cardiac Arrest in October 2020, in and out of hospital in 8 days ue to Covid concerns. Rehab was 5 phone calls over 8 weeks. The advice and discussions were helpful, but I felt isolated and both my wife and I were very anxious about what exactly to do given I had several other complications.

In the end I gleaned enough infromation from Rehab, Heart Failure Team Nurse and Doctor to create my own tailored plan and monitored my progress using a Smart Watch that recorded all my vitals. I created a spreadsheet of daily activity and vitals that I shared with HF Nurse and Doctor and now I've lost 3.5 stone and do about 5000 steps a day.

Still got a long journey ahead but feel more or less in control of my health, but still lacking some insight about my heart health that would make the journey less anxious.

I participated in a BHF study earlier this year, a report from which is being compiled and will be presented to the power that be later this year. That showed the postcode lottery that is the NHS across the UK, and unfortunately I was one of the least supported of the group in rehab terms, which also means there's some that have done considerably better.

[Harefieldfan]

lacking was face-to-face contact. It all took place over the phone because of Covid. So nobody checked me.

[Cruiser25]

Although initially I had to push a bit to get onto the rehab sessions, it's been the best thing.

In a class of 6-8 people, most sessions, we all share similar experiences, but in very different situations, mixed ages, equal men/women as well, I'm almost the youngest at 59! Our instructor is fab, she keeps a discrete distance but doesn't miss a thing. Quality not quantity of each exercise, correct breathing and warm-up/cool down including final breathing exercises. We've plenty of scope to push ourselves and more advanced versions of each exercise to ensure each person can get the most out for their effort.

As we're in a local gym, not in a hospital rehab setting, there's no dietary help/advice or rehab nurses for advice, but plenty of that on the BHF website etc

Overall, a vital resource for exercise and mental health well-being, and I for one am most thankful for that, my advice, if you can then grab it with both hands and don't look back 😜

[dunestar]

The best bits were feeling part of a community (although it's a club noone would voluntarily join!). Also feeling safe with the class leader to look after everybody.

[DKLeeds]

Hello, I completed my course about 3 years ago and continued attending keep fit sessions run by Active Leeds. These sessions are fairly light and supervised by qualified trainers.

I do think that the cardiac rehab sessions should have sessions on dealing with the mental aspect of recovering .

All in all I was very impressed with my experience.

David

[45sue]

I opted out after 3 sessions for the following reasons: very limited equipment and options available for the physical exercise which triggered my sciatica; found the rehab nurses rather bossy and dictatorial with a they know best approach e.g they dismissed my query re the effect of stains on liver function for this to be followed by an urgent call from my GP telling me I had a 'deranged liver'; group discussion was not encouraged; group mainly men - I was left as the only woman after 2 others left & did not feel comfortable with this & lack of acknowledgment of gender issues re recovery. I was never asked for any feedback & did much better with referral for gym on prescription which provided sensitive one to one help within my capabilities from a female instructor. The rehab nurses did not look very healthy themselves & I think they may just have been burnt out.

[Davey77]

The hospital Cardiac Rehab department fairly quickly discharged me to go to a much closer twice-weekly class, at my request.

Apart from pushing me to do more cardio exercise than I would on my own, this has the added advantage of being regularly in contact with a cardiac trained nurse. With GPs being almost impossible to see, it's comforting to be able to check changes in conditions like swollen legs with someone. She can also spot if any of the exercise is causing problems and modify it, giving me the confidence to push myself harder than I would on my own.

We also have a quite nice social element, with several of us retiring to the gym cafe for coffee and a chat afterwards.

[Chrissca71]

no rehab being done where i am in west sussex but my GP referred me t local gym who no longer do the rehab as such but had a session with a trainer and now go weekly and use some equipment eg treadmill to build strength up before starting to do more.

[Becksagogo]

I wasnt able to have rehab so i feelthat hindered my recovery. I now struggle to walk any where without getting out of breath.

I was offered a course of swim aerobics at a reduced rate but the class was very clicky and newcomers not really welcome. Most of them were trying to slim rather than there because of illness. You could only book on a Tuesday for a class the following week and they were always "full" when you rang.

[Kwakkers]

The surprising thing was discovering just how quickly I became tired during rehab exercises. After 20 years of judo fighting (training and contest) it was a shock. That was a good marker. Advice on diet, alcohol and exercise was spot on; this was 2011 and I`m still swimming (thank you Lifeguards).

It seems that a lot of OOHAs (Out Of Hospital Arresters), a Wythenshawe pnemonic DON`T tell Centre staff that they wear ICDs.

This ought to be reinforced when we go to Clinics; too many patients end up BACK in Resus because Lifeguards, etc. don`t know how to treat them.

At my local pool I was given their protocol for dealing with ICD wearers; my cardiologist edited it due to too many presumptions.

Wythenshawe had a Defibrillator Support Group which met quarterly and stories were swapped with two Cardiologists attending.....a Q & A session. I`m astonished such groups aren`t everywhere. Nothing even at The Freeman where the care is exceptional.

Frank Hancock.

[Qualipop]

I wasn't even allowed rehab after my heart attack. That was the decision of one cardiac nurse who decided that, because I was in a wheelchair,(Actually a scooter because my shoulders are too badly damaged to use my chair) I wouldn't be able to do it and our hospital does not cater for heart patients in wheelchairs. She wasn't even willing to let me try seated exercises. Over 2 years later I discovered that I could have seen a different nurse or complained to the head of department. I have no idea if I would have been able to do any of the exercises but it would have done wonders for my confidence.

[raymiles]

Sadly, Barts offered me very little apart from a leaflet and, anyway, I checked myself into a care home for a couple of weeks, as I had no one really to help me at my London flat. I did my own research online and made use of this very good activity tracker from a hospital in Canada:

sunnybrook.ca/uploads/1/pro...

By the end, I was walking every day along the Thames river path and getting plenty of other exercise. Now I am back in Mexico, I was worried at first about he altitude where I live (approx 1,800m) but I am OK walking downhill into town and always take a taxi back! I also have a lovely botanical garden to walk in just a few minutes from my house. Soon after my return, I restarted exercise for seniors on YouTube and have been enjoying the variety offered there. There are three instructors I subscribe to, they are free, and I would be happy to provide the links if anyone would like them. Just ask.

I had a triple bypass at the end of June. My tastebuds are still not right, and I get some soreness across my chest, but I haven't needed to take painkillers since I left hospital. I count myself one of the lucky ones

[fishonabike]

an offer of rehab would have been appreciated, but in 2014 it was not offered after Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, which is what i had