The Shock of My Life

• By debmcg
• Reply 3467329
• October 17, 2012 at 9:52 pm
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ABATEACH,
My cardiologist LOVES seeing me! Says I am his healthiest patient ever. But probably the one that made him lose all of his hair a year and a half ago when my LAD dissected and I had a heart attack at age 38! ;) Welcome! I too had no blood pressure issues and no cholesterol issues, never smoked a day in my life, exercised regularly. . . ate well. All of that. Yes. It happens. Here we are. Now that it's happened we run with it. Spread the word. . .help with the research. . . raise money for research. Everything happens for a reason. You are only two weeks into this! It will get better. I promise!! I hope you are planning on cardiac rehab! It's wonderful! All the best to you!!

Deb

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3467624 · In reply to 3467329 by debmcg
• October 17, 2012 at 11:43 pm
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Thank you Deb. My Cardiologist said that I am not yet stable enough for Cardiac Rehab, but when I am, she is going to "launch me into it." What is Cardiac rehab?

• By debmcg
• Reply 3467950
• October 18, 2012 at 6:53 am
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Cardiac rehab is essentially where you attend sessions to exercise while hooked up to heart rate monitors so the cardiac rehab staff can monitor your heart. I went for three months three times a week. I used the treadmills and ellipticals. They also usually have stationary bikes. At the end of each session we did light weights or resistance bands. Once a week we also did a little bit of education in the classroom. Topics ranged from nutrition to stress management to CPR. Cardiac rehab was really wonderful. It was great to get my body back up and going again after it had been through so much. Keep in mind I was pretty fit before my SCAD, exercising at the gym and running 3 miles, etc. Cardiac rehab also was great for me emotionally!! Got my head back into a state of, "ok. I'm going to be just fine now. Life is going to resume and I'm going to be able to do the same things I was doing before!". I hope your experience will be a positive one! Keep me updated!

• By goingstrong
• Reply 3468376
• October 18, 2012 at 9:37 am
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Do hope we can impress you to take cardiac rehab. It's the biggest favor you will do to your body and to extend your life by building extensive collateral vessels for your LAD. It may be small, but your heart muscle can slowly make up for some of that!

Welcome to the club NOBODY wants to join!

Lynn

• By cotedazur
• Reply 3468446
• October 18, 2012 at 9:54 am
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I didn't go to cardio rehab after my stent..... rather sat home and did NOTHING for a year. Then I joined "FastTrack Metabolic Weight loss center" and began exercising on the ShapeMaster Easy Tone machines which I am now doing twice.... six machines for 10 minutes each. I have built muscle mass, lost 42 lbs and my bp is about 100/60 and my resting HR is around 60. Tomorrow will be my 95th visit since Feb 29. One of the reasons I didn't do the cardiac rehab was cost: I would have had to pay for it out of pocket until my $4000 deductible was met and Fast Track costs about $20/month for unlimited visits. It is right in the same building with Journey Lite, a surgical facility for Bariatric procedures and is staffed with nurses, doctors and dietitians. It is also a Medicare Center of Excellence. I just cannot say enough about how WONDERFUL those machines really are.... they are powered and one can exert as much or as little effort one each one. The net result is that one exercises most every muscle in one's body which builds strength and muscle mass which increases calorie burning even at rest. I didn't fee emotionally ready to go to Cardiac rehab in the weeks after the MI in Dec of 2010. I had an 80 and 90% blockages mid LAD which were stented with one stent and only 2% damage to my heart. Pictures before an after ... the LAD looks like a super highway after the stent.

I do believe that cardiac rehab is IMPORTANT and is a great help in just plain feeling better. As I do most things..... I just have done it a bit differently. AND... I am going to be at Fast Track three times per week for the forseeable future.

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3468526 · In reply to 3467950 by debmcg
• October 18, 2012 at 10:17 am
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Thank you for explaining things to me so clearly. Thank you again for your support!

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3468532 · In reply to 3468376 by goingstrong
• October 18, 2012 at 10:18 am
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Thank you.

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3468546 · In reply to 3468446 by cotedazur
• October 18, 2012 at 10:22 am
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I am not sure when I will be launched into Cardiac Rehab, but I do intend to do it to the best of my ability. I just hope my body will start cooperating with my desire to exercise...SOON!

• By goingstrong
• Reply 3469220
• October 18, 2012 at 2:43 pm
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Ha. Don't be "lulled" into thinking your body will 'want' to exercise! At least mine doesn't. Neither does my mind.

But the benefits are beyond description. I've gone from feeling 'old' and sick with CAD to feeling alive, youthful, and energetic again! I don't promise those results but can guarantee, if you work at it, you will feel like a different person!

As for "cotedazur" (love that NAME!) and your workout! Good for you! If it does the trick, I would be amiss to criticize! The machines sound great! And the price is great. I pay $16 per month at my gym now that I'm done with my rehab. I miss the monitoring, but think I've proven to myself that I'm 'good to go' heart wise and won't have an MI on the treadmill

Lynn

• By cotedazur
• Reply 3469627 · In reply to 3469220 by goingstrong
• October 18, 2012 at 5:31 pm
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I have to talk myself into going there EVERY day. BUT... once I am there... I start to feel much better. There really IS something to be said about the endorphin response. I DO feel better having done the physical work after I get there. But then, I have fibromyalgis (maybe) and osteoarthritis pain issues. I am 5 foot 10" and am now at 210 lbs. I need to get the weight off my joints so PAIN control is a huge motivator. My brother, who died from CHF never had weight OR cholesterol issues.... go figure. I just understand that I need to lose another 40 lbs to take the stress off both my heart AND my joints. Pain is a bummer!!

• By DaylilyFan
• Reply 3470406 · In reply to 3469627 by cotedazur
• October 18, 2012 at 11:20 pm
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cotedazur: Hang in there! I know it's tough, but if you lose 10% of your current weight, you will definitely have less pain, not to mention just plain feeling better. The downside to losing, of course, is that the amount of calories needed to maintain that lower weight is less than the amount needed to maintain your original weight! My doctors have told me not to eat 3 hours before bed, and if I could stick to that, I'd really be thin--but I backslide....

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3470516 · In reply to 3469220 by goingstrong
• October 19, 2012 at 12:22 am
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Thanks for your encouragement. I am an ex-professional athlete, so hard work and determination against the will of my body and mind, are already built into me! I just want to get going!!

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3470519 · In reply to 3469275 by Pchyk
• October 19, 2012 at 12:24 am
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I will definitely pray for you! I DO believe strongly in the power of prayer!

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3471496
• October 19, 2012 at 11:15 am
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I really need the support given here because it is the only support group that I have.

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3471887 · In reply to 3471654 by Pchyk
• October 19, 2012 at 1:10 pm
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How are you feeling, and what kind of work do you do?

• By cotedazur
• Reply 3472256 · In reply to 3470406 by DaylilyFan
• October 19, 2012 at 3:17 pm
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I know what you're saying...... DayLilyFan. I started out in mid Dec at 252 and now at 210 the pain is a bit better..... I am in this for the long haul and will hang in there until I hit my goal of getting rid of another 40 lbs. I never thought I'd be looking forward to Medicare, but next year is THE YEAR and I look forward to getting rid of a cataract, having an MRI on my lumbar spine.... and some other things. Fortunately I have not had any other heart symptoms since the attack Dec 6, 2010. I have a long history of weight issues and have had a LapBand since June of 06. It is interesting that I have never gotten above 255... I have lost 100 lbs THREE times and I surely hope this latest attempt will be the LAST push and that I'll be able to maintain a reasonable number. I don't think 145 is in my future, but I want to get as much weight off my joints as is humanly possible!!

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3472843 · In reply to 3472573 by Pchyk
• October 19, 2012 at 8:16 pm
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What is it that you teach? why not only work part-time? what's causing your energy to be so low?

• By ABATEACH
• Reply 3474152 · In reply to 3473310 by Pchyk
• October 20, 2012 at 11:52 am
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I'm so sorry to hear this! I will definitely pray for you!