Restarting after Angioplasty

BJones · 11-25-2008, 07:36 AM

NOTE: This is a copy of what I posted on another JP forum, but I think this one is more appropriate.

I started the NROL in the summer, using the "Eternal Beginner" program, and was making good progress. I hit a few bumps (like lower back pain, from poor form), but overall was pleased with how it was going.

In September, I started experiencing chest pain (kind of a squeezing tightness/burning) with exertion - that would stop almost immediately if I stopped whatever activity I was doing. I actually first noticed it while out walking the dog. Because of it, I started backing off of the workouts. I eventually saw my doctor, in October, who set up an appointment with a cardiologist two days later. In the intervening day, I had a much more intense chest epsiode, that had the pain radiating down both arms.

The next day, the cardiologist put me in the hospital for a heart catheterization (angiogram) about 15 minutes after we met. They found a 95+% blockage of the left anterior descending artery (LAD - aka "the widow-maker") and put in a stent to relieve it (angioplasty). Everything worked well, there was no damage to my heart, and I feel great.

My current prognosis is excellent. Amusingly, I was told that this was due to my youth (52) and fitness (hah!). My cholesterol (at 245 this summer) was down to 156 at the time of the angioplasty - so the food charting I started this summer (using the spreadsheet I got from the NROL forum) helped.

I have been cleared to resume exercising - but not completely. I am not to run/jog or lift strenously until January. For now, I can walk (I'm doing 3-5 miles every other day) and do "light" weight lifting.

My question is about the "light" weight lifting. He wasn't too specific, he just said to keep my discomfort level low while exercising. In January, he said to bump it up to around 7 on a scale of 1-10.

After talking with a few folks, I realized that my old weight lifting routine (well, it was almost a routine) would not be appropriate. Anyone out there with a good strength-based program for fitness after a heart procedure?

Thanks,

Bill

drs · 11-26-2008, 05:22 PM

If you didn't go through any cardiac rehab, I'd call the outpatient cardiac rehab unit where you were hospitalized and ask them what your doctor has in mind by light weights.

Honestly, there is probably no iron-clad answer here. Please go low and go slow.

BJones · 06-23-2009, 07:15 AM

Well, I'm back. I never got a clear answer from the Cardiac Rehab folks on "light" weightlifting. The answers all dealt with my perception of the level of discomfort during exercise. As a result, I decided to keep my exercise oriented towards walking...just 3-5 miles a day, in addition to the normal movement in a day.

Now I am back in the gym. My current program (3 days a week - MWF) is to spend 30 minutes doing cardio-training on an elliptical trainer or exercise bike, then do a 30-minute, full-body weight-training circuit, and finish with another 15 minutes on cardio. On 2 days (TTH), it's the same, minus the weight-training circuit and adding core work on the mats. On the weights, I started very light and am choosing weights I can do 12-18 reps...when I hit 18 reps, I increase the weight.

I've only been doing this routine a couple of weeks. We'll see how it goes.