recovery after heart bypass

[Oldkiter]

hi 7 weeks post op and was looking for advice . Im a 60 yr old adrenaline junkie into mountain biking, kitesurfing and skiing . Have anyone got advice as to how I should approach my recovery return to the sports I love . Thanks

[Snowflake01]

Are you booked in any Cardio Rehab programmes? They should give you the advice needed - they were very supportive of me returning to almost any activity. Beyond 8 weeks should see your sternum to gradually feel much more stable 🤞(still nowhere enough for your sports though!), but still be careful not to go backwards in recovery.

I'm 14 weeks post CABG and slowly building fitness and muscles back, using the programme for gym sessions and have done a couple of parkruns (heart rate restricted at 70%). Feeling pretty good actually. In the more 'stressful' sports, I'm giving it several more months before further testing my sternum with the aim to return to skiing, triathlon, canoeing, longer runs and everything else I did before (already booked my 2025 ski trip). I wouldn't attempt the more sternum stressful of these sports until probably +12 months and I've built more strength, but I haven't really had guidance on timescales... disclaimer: listen to the professionals, not me! 🤪

Everyone is individual, but I think if 'one' slowly and steadily rebuilds themselves, then you can return to these, even if not to the same level of intensity. Use the Cardiac Rehab people to guide you through this. Good luck and don't rush anything, it'll set you back further!! 👍

[Oldkiter in reply to Snowflake01]

thanks just spoken to rehab team and their going to help me regain muscle strength in line with my sporting ambition .

[Snowflake01 in reply to Oldkiter]

This might be useful... acpicr.com/publications/pat...

[Lowerfield_no_more]

1. Remember you are not 25 any more and your body has had a major intervention and needs to recover. The older you get the longer it takes.

2. Listen to your body as you slowly ramp up your recovery programme. Only you know if you are overdoing it. If you do overdo it scale back.

3. Attend cardio rehab and make the most of it. Listen to what the health professionals advise and follow it.

Hope your recovery goes well, and you get back to what you enjoy, when you are ready.

[Oldkiter in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Patience is a virtue and its something I’m having to learn

[Smits1980]

Rely on your rehab staff but the key difference for me post surgery was rehab advised never to do vigorous exercise again- only moderate. So that’s 70% of 220 minus your age, rather than 80%. I know that different rehab teams have different approaches but my team were very clear about that and I’ve stuck to it since. I have a BPM range to adhere to and stick to it.

[Hidden]

I am a keen cycler, I had a Cabgx2 at the end of July 2023. I did Cardiac Rehab 3 months which was pretty pointless due to my high levels of fitness before the op but I still went each week.

I did indoor cycling up to April and then went outdoors and so far since April I have cycled 2850kms outdoors.

I don't get any pain from my Sternum but do get a little from my leg scar due to damaged nerve endings through the vein harvesting.

Best advice is to monitor your heart and listen to your body.

[MountainGoat52]

Hi Oldkiter,

Don't forget your sternum won't be healed until the 12/13 week stage. My interest is hill walking and I couldn't carry a backpack until I was properly healed. Frustrating yes as from 8 weeks I was walking miles and miles without a pack, but it is necessary to be patient and give your body time to heal. I know someone who didn't and he had to have an op to reset his sternum... back to square one!

When you get back into your adrenalin zone, take it steady and build up bit by bit. Easy for me starting on smaller hills and working up to Munros in Scotland, but I'm sure you'll find a way within your interests.

All the best for your recovery.

Gerald

[Pollypuss]

Well the specialist told me to wait six months after my triple at playing tennis and I did and it was great . Post op exercises though are paramount. If you cannot attend any locally there are some excellent post heart op ones on utube. I couldn’t do what Ranulf Fiennes did though And run 7 marathons in seven days in seven different countries just 3 months after his op. 😹

[fixedrider]

Depends entirely on medical advice. As I have said to others, I'm a life-long club cyclist, five years on from a double bypass. The surgeon who discharged me said I was fine to push myself, so I'm back to club time trials (riding just as badly as I did before), longer rides occasionally up to 200km, Zwift and so on. Very occasionally I back off when I feel I should, but generally no issues.

But that's me, acting on the advice I was given in my situation. Others will be quite different.

[Nugen]

Its worth bearing in mind that many of the "rehab" folk don't really understand the complexities of heart surgery and how the body behaves after surgery despite what's claimed. I think the most important thing is to limit your BP by setting limits on exercise intensity...pulse rate (max 65,%) and ensuring you exercise with low weights ( 5-10 kg) to reduce chances of straining or damaging soft tissues. Be v careful to keep weights close to the body.

The duration of exercise has to be built slowly ....this is prob something you take advice on ...I started at week 6 and hour four times a week ...every other day.

Keep in touch with your surgeon that's my advice.

Good luck.

[Jetcat]

Hi kiter, take it easy and build up steady.👍

[Ralfthecav]

My advice - 5 months post 3xCABG - is to take things slowly and listen to your body. I read various articles suggesting 3 month recovery time but with me some things are definitely taking longer. Normal daily activities and lots of walking was fine but strenuous actvity e.g. running pushed my heart rate above limits suggested by cardiac rehab team. This type of activity also caused increased discomfort in the sternum area for a couple of days afterwards. As a result I’ve slowed down my plans to get back to running 5km a couple of times a week and just slowly increasing distance and pace on the treadmill. Still have days when I feel great and other days where my body tells me not to be so cocky and to slow down. All in all just glad to have had the op and to be looking forward to a brighter future - things could have been much worse had the blockages not been diagnosed. Good luck with your recovery.

[healthquestions24]

Oct 22, heart attack followed by quad bypass at age 62. Always very active in fitness and sports, so came as a shock, with no prior symptoms. This is my recovery experience which you may find of interest:

Joined the cardiac rehab programme for 12 weeks but it was very low level fitness. However, helped morale to be with people going through the same thing. Outside of rehab, followed a walking programme every day (cycling a no no due to potential risk to sternum). After 12 weeks started to do some gentle exercises for upper body, but no overhead exercises.

6 months later able to get back to weight training, including bench press and stationary bike riding. Slowly built up the weight and reps but there were setbacks along the way as I learned my limits. Everything tracked with a heart rate monitor.

Sport was more challenging as I play racquet sports such as tennis, table tennis and padel and the upper body twisting was quite painful initially. Had a couple of meetings with consultants to be told to expect pain from nerve damage where grafts are. Recovery for sport isn't a straight line.

Two years on I'm fully back into sport, can bench press 70+Kgs and doing high intensity bike workouts. In short, might not feel like it in your current situation, but things will improve and you should be able to gradually get back to the sports you love. Slow and steady is best!

Hope this helps and good luck with your recovery.

[SJ410]

Well I'm amazed at all these replies. In 2016 I had a new aorta valve fitted and a repair on my aorta, which had dissected.

At the time I was 67 but had been into martial arts and weight training since the age of 7.

I have never recovered my fitness, I was told right at the beginning I didn't qualify for rehab, so had no advice what so ever.

So, anyway I'm sincerely glad that you all had help and hope it works out for you, oldkiter 😉👍

[devonian186]

I have only just seen your comment as have been away for the last 11 days in Switzerland. This included a lot of hill walking and a visit to Zermatt where we could see the Matterhorn from our bed!

There was no doubt that I felt quite weary and off for several days (we were staying at 1300 metres) as did my wife, so googled the effects of altitude on older people especially after heart surgery (I had a quadruple bypass in May 22)

There is a lot of information out there about medium and high altitude activities and its effect on your body.

Skiing at 2000 metres or higher (Zermatt goes to nearly 4000 metres) is likely to have an impact, especially if you go in a cable car from a low height to something significant, so you might be best to keep to around the 2000 mark rather than aim too much higher. Also you might find it takes longer to acclimatise-it certainly knocked me out for a couple of days but I am 73.

Should be nothing to stop your activities but perhaps just be a bit cautious. As someone else remarked you are no longer 25 and have had major surgery