Cardiac rehab

[Maradona10]

How long have you had to wait for an appointment to get started? I'm on my third week of waiting. Is this normal?I'd love to know what I could expect from my first session. Very keen to get started.

[Captain_Birdseye]

7 months for me.

[Rosie1066]

I had surgery nine weeks ago and have had my first appointment which was an assessment. I am now waiting for a place when one becomes available.

[Instructor57]

Was about 8 weeks for me then I had to chase it up !Even then all I got was telephone support from the local hospital I had been referred to for rehab .

I complained to the hospital that treated me and they put me on a brilliant online course which I completed and now into my phase 4 rehab at a local gym .

You will probably need to do all the chasing to get yourself sorted ... Good luck and keep pushing them

[Maradona10 in reply to Instructor57]

Thanks. Can you share that course with me? I'm just curious. I won't do anything until I have had my assessment.

[Instructor57 in reply to Maradona10]

Unfortunately not...you would not be able to access it

[Maradona10 in reply to Instructor57]

OK thanks anyway.

[Hidden]

It depends on the NHS Trust you come under and their capacity. This latest time I waited about 6 weeks for a Pre-assessment and a further 4 weeks for the first rehab session which is this week. In the meantime I agreed with the rehab team to continue with BHF Cardio Rehab Videos Levels 1 to 5, which I'd been doing on and off for past two years. I found the videos similar to what I had in a Rehab course a few years ago.

[Maradona10 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. I'll check those out.

[Hidden in reply to Maradona10]

A couple of things I should have mentioned about the videos.

They were used by my Trust and many others, as a means of continuing Rehab whilst they were effectively closed due to the pandemic. I find them useful doing them at home on YouTube/TV. Much of the exercises are what they do in the rehab classes.

Secondly, the first few seconds of the videos mention about when to do them.

I'm currently back to Level 4, twice a week.

[Cat04]

Not all NHS trusts offer cardiac rehab, I live in an area where there is none.

[mcbane]

I’m in the US. It took 3 weeks to get into the class after I was cleared (4 weeks out of bypass surgery). The first appointment was just getting information and verifying I could walk on the treadmill. The classes after that were one hour, three times a week, and were more or less a very personalized gym class. Had to wear a wireless heart monitor the whole time and they checked blood pressure before class, during exercise, and 5 minutes after exercise. Each class started with warmup exercises, some of which I was exempted from due to sternal precautions. After that it was typical gym equipment (treadmill, bike, stair machine) with very modest heart rate goals. They had a nurse watching EKG for any signs of excessive stress. I only had a couple classes when my heart ran too fast - they just had me take a timeout and then reduced the effort level for the rest of the class.

[Maradona10 in reply to mcbane]

Sounds utopian. I hope I get this here in UK.

[Pouchielou1972]

I had to wait about 3 or 4 weeks for my first stage, ut this was due to miscommunication between my heart failure team and the cardiac rehab team and then even longer for my next stage rehab caused yet again by poor communication between the teams which was literally just because the rehab team weren't receiving my referral letter.

[Alison_L]

My local hospital is currently running at about 2 months for the phone call to book the initial assessment, which may be another 2 or 3 weeks, then another couple of weeks to get you on the course.

[Carriefarm]

I had to wait 3 months.

[DWizza]

Hi, I had quadruple bypass surgery 5 weeks ago,l. I was told that I would be contacted within 2 weeks of discharge by a rehab team. This didn’t happen. I followed it up myself band found that I hadn’t been added to any rehab program. I was then told it would be added and followed up. I called back a week later and was told that the person dealing with it was on holiday… I made enquiries with my local hospital (not the hospital where I had my surgery) regarding rehab programs, luckily someone called mr back and were proactive . They contacted my surgery hospital to get my discharge for rehab authority and arranged a home assessment as first step , due today .

Hospital admin is not always brilliant, you might have to do some leg work yourself.

[LouiseGardener]

Heard within a few weeks of having HA that my rehab would begin in Nov. Had my HA in Sept. While I waited I walked and gardened with no problems. Tis stressful tackling activity on your own until you get to rehab. Just thankful I live in area that offers it tho.

[momander]

HiIn Scotland its 6 to 10 weeks before its deemed safe to start cardio rehab

It's low impact exercises. I love it. There are always nurses there to speak to if you have any concerns.

[Bebop2023]

After my OHS for valve replacement I had an initial assessment for with the nurse for cardio rehab at about 8-9weeks, effectively baselining my capability. I then was forwarded onto an instructor and had an intro and discussion a week or two later and then started weekly sessions in my local gym building my capability slowly up. Instructor is present in the gym, as are other patients.

[NannyPat1]

I never got it. Had a follow up, told me I was fit, basically bye bye

[NakedHeels in reply to NannyPat1]

Same,that was 9 years ago.

Feel like it’s something i would like even now.

[HealthyBigHeart]

Hi….I’m 9 weeks post op and still not had my first session. I’m keen to start too. I thought it was my local area that was slow. I had my 1st visit to the cardiac nurse last week. There are things we need to know/do sooner rather than later. Good luck

[Davey77]

It's a Postcode Lottery, depending on the facilities at your hospital and in your area. I came under Basildon, which has its own Cardiac Centre. Mental support started at my bedside and continued with weekly telephone calls, because of the Lockdown. Physical assessment started shortly after the work on my stents was completed. I heard from an acquaintance about regular Rehab sessions closer to me and the hospital Rehab department discharged me to that as soon as possible because I asked. I have to pay a monthly fee, because they hire a gym studio, but exercising under supervision is priceless

[Qualipop]

The rehab nurse contacted me after 3 weeks but that was before the pandemic; delays most everywhere now but it does depend on area

[cappachina]

I gotbmy assessment at 6 weeks and was due to start the following week but got blood pressure problems so I had to delay start until they were happy so started at 10 weeks Finished course and have just started the level 4 Healthy Hearts It is well worth doing and I really enjoyed it Hopenyou hear soon

[Bichon76]

Hi. I am still waiting from feb 20. I couldn’t get rehabilitated due to Covid. And my cardiologist is still trying to get me a place. So three weeks is pretty good all the best

[Hidden]

3 years since my AVR and still waiting for cardic rehab. I guess it won't happen now!