Exercise After A Heart Attack

Probably the most worrying aspect of exercise after heart attack is how much exercise you should be doing?

Well this will obviously vary from individual to individual and you should always take advice from your doctor and consultant.

The secret is to tread that fine line between being frightened to do anything at all, and the other extreme – trying to prove that you are perfectly fit and healthy as soon as you are allowed to go home from hospital.

Exercising after a heart attack will help you to recover physically and also build your confidence. Moderation and gradual improvements are the keys to long-term recovery. The ideal exercise is walking, as you can take it at your own pace. The first couple of times that you go for a walk it can be frightening, so if possible ask someone to go with you.
Your confidence will quickly come back and you’ll soon be happy to go out on your own.

Many people prefer to exercise at home or combine both. The main reasons you might prefer this are, convenience,
You can do a few minutes and then rest and if you don’t have anyone to accompany you on a walk, then you may feel more confident exercising at home.

Do's and don'ts

When you are recovering in the first four to six weeks after a heart attack, you should not do anything that requires lifting, pulling, pushing, or a sudden burst of energy:

Use the guide below to help you.

It is OK to experience:

Slight breathlessness
Feeling your muscles working
Slight sweating
Tiredness that soon passes

But stop immediately if you experience any of the following warning signs:

Pains in the chest
Sickness or nausea
Excessive sweating
Excessive shortness of breath

If these symptoms are not quickly relieved, do not hesitate to seek medical advice.

Exercise can be a frightening proposition in the aftermath of a heart attack. Many patients worry that stressing the heart—a muscle that has already been injured by the heart attack—will trigger a second episode.

But recent research indicates that a reasonable amount of regular exercise is the best way to strengthen the heart after a heart attack. Among the benefits: increased strength and stamina as well as better control of blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and weight. Thus, heart attack patients who exercise usually require less medication, are less likely to need bypass surgery or angioplasty, and are less likely to die of a second heart attack than those who remain sedentary.

Types of Exercise for Heart Attack Patients
Doctors recommend two types of exercise for people who’ve had a heart attack: aerobic cardiovascular exercise and resistance (strength) training. However, any sort of heavy lifting should be avoided.

Aerobic exercise includes activities such as walking, jogging, cycling, rowing, and swimming. Your initial workouts will likely be at a low intensity level and later ones likely will be more intense, a typical workout may include the following:

15 minutes of warm-up (that is, stretching or light walking, jogging, or cycling)
20 to 30 minutes of more intense cardiovascular exercise
10 minutes of cool-down (with activities similar to the warm-up)

To see whether you are exercising with the correct intensity, you may need to take your pulse or use a heart-rate monitor before, during, and after your workout.  If your heart rate is not in the recommended range, you need to modify the intensity of your program. A less-intense exercise program may be more appropriate if you are severely ill, disabled, or frail; have a pacemaker; or take beta-blockers.

Lifting weights or using resistance machines or bands is known as resistance training and should be introduced slowly as your health improves. Doing resistance-training exercise as well as cardiovascular exercise helps to minimize muscle loss.

The Heart Fit DVD is a low intensity exercise programme for prevention and rehabilitation of your heart and includes both aerobic and resistance training.

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