People who complete the full six week course of Cardio Rehab after having had a heart attack, are roughly 40% less likely to have another heart attack in the following five years.
In other words Cardio Rehab works!
Now of course there's likely some selection bias in those stats. The people who don't go to Cardio Rehab may be older or have more co-morbidities or less mobility, all of which raises their risk of a second heart attack. However, it also suggests that the people who do attend are more motivated, and having attended Cardio Rehab they're better equipped with the knowledge and tools to keep themselves healthy going forward. That's the real key to success.
Which takes us to the crunch question. Have you any thoughts on what might have caused your heart attack, and what you might change to reduce the chances of another one?
Cardio Rehab, plus your annual Cardio check up and blood test with your GP, will provide you with plenty of ideas and metrics that might shed some light in this area. But the main risk factors (apart from age, ethnicity, and gender, which we're pretty much stuck with) are high blood pressure, high HbA1c scores, poor lipid profile, smoking/vaping, excess weight, poor diet, and lack of exercise. There are others, like gum disease or poor sleep patterns, but these are the ones that account for the lion's share of heart attacks.
And the good news is that there are ways of fixing or at least mitigating all of these.
I did the full gym based rehab, but like you were, supposedly, fit anyway. It's very low level stuff so I wouldn't worry about missing it. My cause is due to family history but I do believe stress contributed as I was a victim of constructive dismissal. I have never smoked a single cigarette either.
Thank you for your response.Family history here also .
Also stress (last 20 years as a driving instructor)
I am less concerned about the course now as I am at least getting excellent phone help and support from the team who I have spoken to several times over the last few days.
If I'm not careful I could get stressed about not doing the gym based course which not ideal 😐
That's disappointing, especially as quite a few people on this forum have reported face-to-face Cardio Rehab is now re-opening in their area following lock down. You mention"gym based" but just for clarity, Cardio Rehab is often held in village halls or other such facilities. Even though they contain an exercise component they're also about very experienced cardiac nurses delivering talks on medication, diet, recommended exercise levels, etc.
The BHF ran an on-line version during lock down, and they also provide an invaluable resource via their telephone service. Alternatively if you have any questions then try the forum, many of us have kept the notes and handouts from our Cardio Rehab training.
Some areas offer a gym based follow up to Cardio Rehab, which is purely exercise orientated. Even if you don't have the basic Cardio Rehab course maybe this supplemental training is available? The place to ask is the hospital where you were treated, not your GP, as it's the hospitals than run Cardio Rehab.
Thank you , and yes I realise they are not necessarily gyms, I have signed up for the bhf online course but the hospital I was treated cannot take me on their course as I'm not in their catchment area
If there's no exercise component to your rehab it might be worth checking out the University Hospital of North Midlands cardiac rehab channel on YouTube. I prefer it to the BHF videos. They are graded and after my recent heart scare (and 2 previous NSTEMIs) I've gone back to these. Check out with your cardiac team if and when it's ok to start them. I was a keen runner: a sub 2 hour half marathon 4 days before first HA at age 59. I'm simply jogging now as opposed to running. So I ran half marathon at 5:36 per km, now I'm satisfied at 7 mins per km for 5k (age 63)! It's kind of frustrating but it is what is and I try to look forward. I use a Garmin watch to check heart rate and never run so that I'm out of breath. Warm up and cool down are even more important now. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Hi and welcome. Another vote from me for cardiac rehab. There was a wide range of ages at mine and the nurses and physios were lovely. Now waiting on my community based phased 4 rehab to come through.
I know for a runner this may not be what you wanted to hear but others seem to suggest a gentler form of exercise may be swimming. Perhaps an opportunity to introduce a new element into your exercise programme. Just an idea. Best of luck
Welcome. Could the hospital you were treated at refer you for cardiac rehab in your local area? I second the suggestion to look at the UHNM YouTube videos re cardiac rehab. Face to face rehab was not available at the time of my recovery so UHNM cardiac rehab team made a lot of online resources which were really useful. I then got GP to refer me back when in person sessions restarted.Good luck
Age 62 and had Nstemi at 59. 2 stents in LAD. Whilst under full Covid my rehab plan was initially limited to a few phone calls, however once things relaxed a bit I managed to get onto a gym rehab program that ran for 12 weeks from recollection. At the first session after BP and heart rate check the instructor explained that you must always warm up well before starting, absolutely but when I explained that I had run 2.5k to attend he became a little more relaxed about the treadmill which I find incredibly boring! I was a keen ParkRunner beforehand and did a PB under 23 mins a few weeks before my heart attack.... previously type 2 diabetic but had lost a lot of weight and thought I was the fittest I had been for years, what did I know!
Gradually built up walking, jogging and back to running ParkRun after about 6 months. Post HA PB is around 23:30… not quite back to where I was but not desire to be the fastest person in the graveyard!
I don't think the gym rehab helped me greatly as reasonably fit before HA, but taking care of and listening to your body is the right thing to do. Haven't bothered continuing the gym as not my thing, far happier out pounding the streets.
Positive outlook and looking after yourself will hopefully help you get to a good place, it can be done! Good luck.
Hi Instructor sounds like you’re doing great, I have a similar story following an HA in 2019 but have always been a runner and am now back to a 5k a week + daily Joe Wicks work outs which work fine for. Cholesterol is/was my problem so lowish carb diet for me! Good luck
I'm not at all fit , I'm a wheelchair user so I was desperate to do rehab after my HA purely to build up my confidence with someone specially trained to hand 'just in case'. Sadly the nurse I was allocated, decided without me even trying, that I wouldn't be able to do it. They don't do rehab for those i wheelchairs. We probably need it more than anyone else. You will probably find it boring but what it will do for our confidence is immeasurable.
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