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Exercise Guidance with Ascending aorta dilation
I am a 56 yo male recently diagnosed with a 4.7 cm ascending aorta dilation. Exercise and weight training has been a part of my life since I was 14 and I was told the following: no competitive sports, no contact sports, exercise more cardio versus "heavy lifting". I was told not to lift more than 50 pounds - super light for me, I have read other things like < 100 #, or half your body weight which is half my body weight. My doctor said swimming, light hiking, biking but no dead lifts which I do not do. I asked about HR parameters which my doctor said 150 or below is ok. I don't lift "heavy weights" anymore, but I did do pushups, planks and BW rows on TRX which I read was not great due to the isometric exercise that increases BP. I am a good shape so this 50#.no isometric restriction is an issue. I am not sure what I can in terms of resistance and what cardio intensity is acceptable? Physical activity has been a part of my life - I am looking for guidance as these restrictions are confusing to me. Any help would be great. Thanks! JZ
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@angleh......you may be "over exerting" during your workout. The maximum heart rate for your age is 145. Recommended HR for workouts is 50-85% of max HR. So your max would be around 120ish. Hope that helps!
I was in a similar situation as you: exercise was an integral part of my life. When I was diagnosed with a 5.2cm ascending aneurysm, they told me 'no crossfit'! (those goblin squats were not aneurysm friendly...) ...and they said I should back off heavy weights and substitute walking. It was good advice. I was in pretty decent aerobic shape when I had my surgery and that helped a lot with the recovery. With yours at 4.7cm, you have a bit to go before surgery is 'indicated' but listen to your doc on the heavy lifting advice.
@ctflyr Thank you ,it helps very much to get some guidance on this.
@mikeneverwired Good advice Mike ,it helps structure an effective workout for good health.
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1 Reaction@johnzajac
I have an OMRON unit also. My cardiologist compared the readings on my unit and the one in their office during a visit with them. The systolic and diastolic readings were very close, but the pulse rate was way off. Cardiologist told me to use my home finger pulse oximeter.
@mikeneverwired
FYI, I have an ascending aortic aneurysm and my cardiologist said I could not do any planking, stomach crunches, or squats. He was reluctantly OK with my using the treadmill. He limited me to no more than 10 lbs. light weights. When I asked why squats were a "no", he said it was the upward movement that could cause a spike in my BP.
@ewei6911 all those exercises lead you to hold your breath to maintain core stability, it takes a lot of practice and discipline to learn how to breath through every second of each rep, that big strain causes your BP to spike by more than 100mmHg in certain cases, it drops immediately after the exercise but those huge spikes can of course be very dangerous for an aneurysm. So listen to your cardiologist!!!
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1 ReactionI agree. Walk, walk, walk!
I don't know but will find out soon.Thank you for your response.Herb