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Exercise, Sport, Physical Activity After Stent (2008 archive)
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Current Postings on This Page (38): • I am a 26 year old Pilates instructor and currently
training for a strong man competition. I was told last week I need a
pacemaker and that I am in a level 2 heart block. I need a Doctor that
works with
young athletes, I have not been able to find anyone who cares about my
activity level. If anyone has any advice
I'd really appreciate it. • I had posted last on January 21, 2008 and my main
question posted has anyone with 6 stents or more continued to run. Well,
I have my answer, I have.
I now run 3 miles, 5 days per week for the entire year. 3 weeks ago I competed
in my 1st 5K (3.1 miles) and finished in 24:40. When I finished I was not out
of breath whatsoever and felt as good as I did 20 years ago (I'm now 50). My
cholesterol remains under 100 and my HDL is in the mid forties. So, any of
the readers of this post want the answer to can I exercise or run after
stents...in
most cases, absolutely! • To all posters in this topic looking for specific
advice as to diet, exercise, etc. -- while there are general recommendations
in terms of these activities, each patient has individual needs and capacities.
That's why it is so important to have a doctor, preferably a cardiologist,
evaluate your specific clinical situation and make recommendations that
will suit you. Some individuals are able to run for miles
and do marathons after stenting; some should not try to push themselves
in that direction
because they may have other issues that will strain the heart muscle. That
is why we on Angioplasty.Org do not make recommendations (other than global
obvious ones) for specific patients. See your doctor. We also urge
posters to report back what they find out so others may benefit. • Hi, I am S.Nair from Bombay India, I underwent
Angioplasty of my RCA which had 100% block, now I have a stent installed
too.Can some one tell me from experience what are things I must take
care about...plus can I still suffer from a Heart
disease again? • Am 53 yrs old and have been following a strict
diet/exercise regimen for more than 25 yrs. None of the usual parameters
(BP, Cholesterol, BMI etc) indicated
CAD. However, during my annual check up the TMT was +ve for angina. Angiogram
indicated
90% block in LAD. Should i go for angioplasty? • I am 49. I had a drug eluting stent placed on
11/04/08. It was a 3.5mm put in my RCA. How long do I have to wait before
I can start walking on the treadmill? • Neil -- your determination to make "lifestyle"
changes is to be admired. I, too, have seen such changes in a friend of
mine. He suffered a heart attack one year ago -- he got to a cath lab and
the docs saw two completely occluded arteries which they did not attempt
to open. The blockages were old and chronic occlusions and collateral circulation
had developed
(probably some time ago) to fill the need. Anyway, he got two stents in
the artery that caused the MI and started (or was started by his concerned
wife!) to lose weight and exercise daily -- a morning walk of a mile plus
every day! He says he feels better and has more energy than he can remember
-- and at the end of a recent walk we had together, he was just fine, but
I was
winded.
Guess
I need to take my own advice.... Congratulations and keep us informed on
your progress! • Hi, I'm a 50 year-old who had angioplasty to
correct a 99% blockage in my LAD in June. I had 2 2.5mm Taxus stents put
in (12mm and 24mm). The day after the procedure, I went for a walk up a
hill for 3/4 of a mile and felt great. Previous to the procedure, I experienced
class 2 angina at around 130 bps HR after about 3 minutes of exertion on
that same hill. I have been increasing my mileage on foot as well on wheels.
I commonly reach 160 bps HR and occasionally reach 170 bps (approx. 100%
of maximum HR). I have not experienced any symptoms out of the ordinary.
I am taking 40mg of Lipitor, 75mg Plavix, and 325 of EC aspirin. I weighed
about 180 pounds prior to the onset of angina symptoms and I have lost
22 pounds since then, mainly through calorie restriction and more or less
following a Mediterranean diet. I have cut out almost all "red" meat intake
and eat mainly fish, shrimp, tofu and chicken. I eat a lot of salads for
lunch and have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast daily. I did 2 marathons
in 1997 and 1998, and feel that I could do another one, but I'm not sure
my knees can take it. The people that I work with are amazed with the weight
loss and I feel really good about what I have been able to accomplish.
I hope to be able to continue the weight loss until I reach 150 pounds,
which was my college weight. My doctor had been bugging me about changing
my diet to reduce my weight and my cholesterol level (averaging about 240
for the past 20 years) but didn't do anything until I "got religion". I'm
sorry that it took getting sick to change my diet and lifestyle, but I
guess
it's better late than never. • My husband had angioplasty in August 2008.
He had put 3 stents put in. He has got arrhythmia and high blood pressure.
Please guide me
the proper diet for him with diet chart and some vegetarian recipes.
He has to reduce weight so daily he walks for an hour. He takes only fruit
in breakfast, chapatti and vegetable in lunch and takes 2 toast made
of
whole meal bread at 5 o'clock in the evening. Is it proper for him? • Joe -- what did your cardiologist
say when you asked the question? He/she must have had some opinion. • I just had 3 stents on 09/12 as of today 09/17
no one will tell me if i can resume my weight lifting and mountain hiking
which I do 3 times/week. • Marcus -- did your cardiologst offer any reason
for this prohibition? There may be specific reasons but, you know, there
have been professional sports figures, even Vice Presidents of the United
States,
who have had stents placed and are continuing their lives. We certainly
do not promote countering your doctor's recommendations, but if you are
not satisfied with your situation, by all means question your
cardiologist
so that you are clear about why he/she made these recommendations. • I had a drug eluting stent inserted 6 months ago, following a CT multislice
scan that showed 90% blockage. I've never had any symptoms whatsoever - breathlessness,
chest pain, etc. My doctor prohibited me from doing any exercise other than walking
or moderate running for the rest of my life. This seem to contrast with the advice
people seem to have received in this forum. Has anyone been given the same type
of advice? • I'm a 45 yr old firefighter and had a heart attack
and stent placed in my right coronary artery 15 May 2008. I live in Italy
and I'm being treated by an Italian Doctor. They say I should do walking,
jogging, biking, etc. but no weight lifting. I've had no complications
so far. Is this normal? Please send
any info to captrickitaly2000@hotmail.com • I had a stent put through my groin a little over a year ago for an artery
of my heart. Somehow scar tissue formed in the groin area. Being a runner all
my life, I find it difficult to run any more. My knee aches, also my heel behind
my ankle of my left foot. Sometimes if I try and run a little too long my foot
will
go to sleep (pins & needles). I can also go up stairs, two at a time, but I have
a hard time walking down stairs. I am on several heart and blood thinning medications
since my heart attack eighteen months ago. Can you give my advice as to what
I can do to eliminate some of my problems? Is there something I can do about
this. • How can I reduce weight. I am 5'-7",weight
75kgs • Dia and Rizwan -- sometimes a feeling of weakness
or fatigue can be caused by one of the medications typically given to
heart patients. In any case, you should consult your interventional cardiologist
about these feelings. And ECG will diagnose any abnormal electrical activity
in the heart, but that's fairly limited. • Hi am 44 yrs. I got angioplasty done on18th March
2008 i am feeling better
but i do have some choking in the throat & sometimes i feel tired walking also
my left hand pains a dull pain. The left arm feels weak & sometimes it pains
sometimes when i chant my prayers i feel tired i got my ECG done it was fine.
do these
symptoms go or how long do they stay? • 10 months ago I got my angioplasty done, two
stents were used. Since then I am working normally, taking normal diet
but getting weaker and weaker day by day. What's the reason behind that
?? • Cardiolite stress testing (a.k.a. nuclear stress
testing) is a functional test that shows any "perfusion deficit" -- lack
of blood flow to the heart muscle. It's not 100% accurate, but few tests
are. Increasingly some cardiologists feel that a multislice CT scan
can
more accurately diagnose the presence of coronary artery disease.
Beyond that another angiogram, using intravascular ultrasound
(IVUS) would be even more accurate, but these procedures all have some
risk associated with them (CT has some radiation exposure, about the same
or less than a Cardiolite test; an angiogram -- well you know, you've
recently had one.) Ask your cardiologist and explain your concerns. Anxiety
can affect your health. Piece of mind is a very important, and often overlooked,
therapy. • Please help me. I am a 54 year old firefighter
who has been doing semi intense cardio training for years. I was engaged
in a strenuous drill at work
when I felt be even in my neck and left shoulder. The discomfort
went away but reappeared during my cycling and speed walking routines.
Of course
I attributed
this discomfort in my left arm, shoulder and neck as some kind of neuro problem
associated with the drill at work. However, the problem intensified in the arm
two weeks later, I went for a cardiolite stress test, and they found 90% blockage
of my LAD. The next day a Taxus Express 2 stent. Started "Mall Walking" with
the wife 4 days later. Still felt some discomfort in left arm and redid the cardiolite
--
showed normal so I began to resume more strenuous activity. My questions are:
1 - The cardiologist says its OK to work my way back to original fitness regiment,
Rehab Nurse says normal exercise range is now 40 beats over walking into the
clinic heart rate which is 85 plus 40 = 125. I used to keep average heart rate
when taking spin classes at 142. What's the general consensus? I am currently
on Plavix, Toprol XL, and aspirin, 2 - I feel a strange feeling in left forearm/hand
- icy hot feeling when heart rate gets over 125. Is this normal? a) should I
insist on a different test to insure the LAD is fully open over and beyond the
cardiolite,
maybe a CAT scan- before I return to full work duty? • I had a stent put in 2 months ago and am keen
to return to my previous exercise levels, including running marathons.
However my GP has banned me from running until my blood pressure reduces
from 150/90 - it was 140/80 before stenting. I can't understand why it
has not decreased as I now take a 5mg of Lisinopril daily, now to be
increased to 10mg. Do I need to try something different, such the non-drug
methods
advertised? • I am 58 year old male. Had chest pain for 6 months.
They could not find the problem. Finally last week they did a nuclear stress
test. They found a blockage
in artery. 2 days later i had stent put in. That was 6 days ago, Haven't had
a cigarette in 6 days longest I have ever gone. I'm having night sweats though
-- wake up soaked. but feel fine beside that Doc says i can walk and go back
to lifting
dumbbells. • I had 2 stents put in in Oct 07. I participated
in a cardiac rehab program and completed 30 sessions of the 36 prescribed
with no problems exercising. I felt great. Suddenly before session 31
my heart rate was high at 120 after exercise warm up. I sat and it declined
to 80, and proceeded to complete my exercises. My heart rate accelerated
again on the tread mill and bike and I became winded and weak. I terminated
the session. I am on toprol (25 milligrams). I called my cardiologist
and
she increased my toprol dosage to 50 milligrams and said no exercise
for a week. Has anyone had similar sudden set back? What do you think is
going
on?
71 yr old male. • Hi all. I need your advice. I am a 33 year old father of 2 young kids
and a wife. I just had an Angiogram and they had to place a Stent "one" in one
of my veins in the heart LAD. Can you please give me some advice on what you
recommend I should do to improve my diet and what I should do and not do as far
as food is concerned. I was very worried and was negative but can someone please
advise when I can return to normal activity and so on please? I was lucky. Your
advice
will be appreciated. Thanking you. • Tom,
I think you need an angiogram... I'm no doc but those are classic
blockage symptoms. At least see another doctor. • An
interesting article about a 64-year-old
from California who, after 4 angioplasties, still felt tired, no energy,
etc. His solution: lose weight, start becoming physicially active. He just
completed his 7th "boot camp" session. We're not advocating this particular
regimen, but just noting that it is possible, with a supervised program
(preferably one connected to a heart program) to increase one's energy
and well-being. • Hugh -- good for you. It's funny, but
when rock stars like David Bowie and a number of government leaders, sports
figures,
etc.
continue
their strenuous activities after stenting, no one tells them to see a shrink. • Thanks. The only problem is my cardiologist is
not an exercise fan and thinks marathoners should see a psychiatrist! However
the hospital where I had the angioplasty has a 6/7 week cardiac rehab programme
by the end of which I hope to be back to somewhere near normal activity
levels. Meanwhile I am listening to advice from various quarters to take
it steadily. • Dear Tom D, Talk to your cardiologist again. I
am not a cardiologist but am 55 yrs old, I am a physician, and now have
4 stents (2 in 12/06 and two in
01/08) with (knock on wood)no heart damage yet. From my experience you need
to be cath'ed again. Now. Each time I had the symptoms you describe (three
times)
it was a fresh blockage. The stress test, in my opinion, is a pretty worthless
test; especially in an athletic, otherwise healthy person. (personal experience
disclaimer of objectivity: my 75 yr old mother and I each had negative stresses
6 months before my mother's MI and CABG and my cath and stents.) I am sorry,
but from my dilettante point of view, the least you could even consider to
get by to diagnose the cause of your symptoms would be a 64 slice cardiac
CTA. • I am 35 year old male and had a stent put in
Nov 19, 2007. After the stent I felt great and start to slowly get back
to exercising; walking mostly. But recently, I started to get tightness
and achiness in my left arm again and went back to my doctor for a stress
test. He said everything looks good and normal but I still feel this
achiness. He thinks it is a pinch nerve and suggested a MRI so I will go
it. But
is anyone else out there experiencing or experienced the same thing?
I find myself short of breath when climbing stairs or heavy walking again.
Not sure what to think but any suggestion or comments are welcomed. • Hugh from UK -- and this applies to many of the
posters to this topic -- advice to all is post-heart procedure, discuss
your exercise regimen with your
cardiologist.
Every
person's capacity
is different. As for rotablation, that is used when a lesion (blockage)
is highly calcified, something a balloon or stent doesn't fix so well.
The other question is whether a stent is necessary, or could POBA (Plain
Old Balloon Angioplasty) work as well? Discuss these option with your cardiologist,
making sure he understands your lifestyle. • I am a keen 30mpw runner who has completed 72
marathons - target is 100. I recently had an angiogram after suffering
from breathlessness and am due to
have angioplasty on one partly blocked artery shortly. Would the blockage have
affected my performance before I became aware of the symptoms and, if so, should
I be able to run faster after the procedure than before I became breathless?
I have several questions: After the angioplasty is carried out, should the
artery be almost as good as new? Is there any benefit in having rotablation
rather than/as
well as a stent? Does having a stent make running etc. more risky? Should I
ease back into training gradually afterwards or carry on from my current
30mpw? Is
it ok to resume gym activities [that don't currently cause breathlessness]
afterwards, including lifting weights? • Elliott -- since you're from Iowa, we'll guess
that you can't wait to get into shape for RAGBRI,
eh? As we advise everyone, discuss exercise regimen with your cardiologist
-- who knows your clinical situation best. • 51 year old male who cycles regularly and has
for 5 years, a runner before that but stopped due to knee pain. Just
had 95% blockage corrected with a stent, now taking aspirin, Plavix, etc.
What
kind of physical activity can I expect to be able to perform, should
I still plan on being able to complete 100 mile rides once I get back in
shape? How soon should I start workouts, the stent was implanted 7 days
ago? • Greetings! I am 65 years old. Last March (2007)
I had Taxis stent inserted into the L distal anterior descending artery
which had 80% blockage. I have 90% lesion of the high first obtuse marginal
at its take-off and being the ostial lesion it was not an ideal lesion
for intervention. In addition, I have R coronary with 60% posterior lateral
artery branch stenosis. I also had pacemaker installed several days after
the stent was inserted due to bradycardia. I take Plavix and aspirin plus
Toprol (beta blocker) for mild hypertension. I had been physically out
of shape and weighted 265lbs. With diet (95% veggie) and exercise I now
weigh 193lbs and hope to get to mid-180s soon. Total cholesterol=140, Triglicerides=60,
LDL=82, and HDL=46. My cardiologist would like the LDL to come down below
70
to "freeze" -- even possibly reverse -- arteriosclerosis at the 90% blockage
area. My LDL has been declining and the HDL increasing. The beta-blocker has
been reduced from 100mg to 50mg as my BP has declined. I started walking immediately
after I got home. I had a few aches and pains but they soon went away. I went
from slow barely walking to shuffle-jogging for 10 seconds to the point where
today I do about 30 minutes of interval running. After warm up I run (1 minute)
to reach my maximum heart-rate and then do 2 minute cool-down to recover and
then do the next interval. This type of exercise creates oxygen debt and leaves
one breathing heavily after each interval. I try to use this period to expand
my lungs. Over time I have been able to increase the max heart-rate target level
(130 to 145 in about a year) as I have become more conditioned. I generally do
about 10 intervals. I take care do not overdo it. I have absolutely no discomfort.
However, my concern is that although the cardiologist said it is okay for me
to run I am concerned about that 90% blockage area. I am aware that each person
has his/her own unique situation, etc. but I can't help but wonder if, in general,
it is prudent to do interval training exercise with such blockages (even though
I am taking Plavix and aspirin) and if others exercise with similar blockages. • I am 49 years old and have been jogging for 26 years 3-4 miles a day 5
days per week. On Oct. 29 I passed out after my daily 3 mile jog and had noticed
in the last 3 months that my breathing became more labored at the 1 mile mark.
I went to my doctor and he had me do a Echo Stress test which indicated that
I may have blockages. I then had an angiogram which showed a major narrowing
in my right artery, 2 smaller blockages in my left and a branch of my circumflex
100% blocked. The doctor did not stent me at that time but said I might be a
candidate for bypass surgery. My doctors decided that one of their expert cardiologists
could treat me with stents. On December 13th I had 6 Cypher drug eluting stents
placed which treated all of my blockages. I currently am on Plavix, Altace, Lipitor,
Niaspan, & aspirin. My doctor set up a exercise schedule as follows: 3 weeks
walking 20 minutes at 3 mph. 2 weeks 30 minutes at 3 mph. 2 weeks 30 min. at
3.5 mph. 2 weeks 30 min. at 4 mph. 2 weeks 30 min. at 4.5 mph and then increased
time to 45 minutes at 4.5-5 mph (jogging at this point). I am pleased to say
that I am doing extremely well at the 3.5 level without any pain or shortness
of breath. I would also want to point out to the other runners out there, that
my only risk factor was borderline high cholesterol (235 TC, 178 LDL, 34 HDL)
I did notice over the last 10 years that my HDL had dropped from 48 to a low
of 34. My cholesterol now after several weeks on the above medications is 122
TC, 68 LDL, 37 HDL. I am hoping that the Niaspan gets my HDL back up to the high
forties Has anyone here have had 6 or more stents and have continued jogging? • Terry from the UK -- chelation therapy has never
been proven to have any benefit, although there's currently a trial sponsored
by the US NIH -- results still a year or more out. Same with Co-Q10, although
some think that might be more helpful in other ways. We don't know of any
down-sides to these therapies, other than the expense and the cases where
patients use them INSTEAD of working with their cardiologist. |
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