Post-CABG Exercise

Hi @lmccray and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Connect is a patient-to-patient community with the key focus being its members, like you. It is not designed to be a community for medical experts to give advice, but it is a place to learn from all your shared experiences, insights, suggestions, and tips. Having said that, I am so glad you found us and chose to start a discussion. I'd like to invite @thankful and @predictable to the conversation to possibly lend some insight.

I think you would benefit greatly from Cardiac Rehab or a consult with one of the physicians in that department to get regimens for daily routines, lifestyle education and support from medical staff to make sure you are on the right track. I added a link below with information surrounding it if you would like to take a look. Even if not at Mayo, there are a lot of larger facilities with the same type of programs.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cardiac-rehabilitation/about/pac-20385192
Also, the American Journal of Cardiology did a study on Post-Cardiac Event Resistance Exercise Guidelines. I have included that here.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002914905017649#fig1
Do you currently have an exercise routine that you are following? Have you consulted with your physician about it?

@imccray, @amandaburnett- I can't say enough from my experience with Cardiac Rehab.
I had been regularly working out in a gym (Fitness Over Fifty) on a regular basis back prior to my heart attack in 2014 and was still working.
I had not the slightest signal that a HA was coming and that day I had just finished my regular workout and returned home to grab a quick bite before retuning back to my office. After getting cleaned up my wife had put out a lunch for me and as I was about to sit down a bit of dizziness then flushness came over me and decided to take a seat in the LR. My wife followd me in and knew something was up and asked was I alright. I said as crazy as this sounds I believe I was having a HA. In the end I had a stent placed in my LAD and was literally leaving the hospital a day later.
I started up Cardiac Rehab about 2 weeks later and because I was accustomed to much of the equipement they had it was relatively easy to get started.
The interns and other help made me feel very welcome! Several weeks earlier I wouldn't have given much thought of jumping on a Eliptical Trainer and going all out for 30 minutes getting my heart rate up to 160 and now I found myself very concerned if I might have another HA. Everyone wears a monitor and has a intern assigned to them. That monitor really helped me because after going through what I had I realized just the slightest little pain would cause me concern, but the intern was right there to assure me that things were fine. I was going 3x a week and began to see the regulars during those times and many of them became friends as we shared our stories together. They also had a Nutrictionist on site that we each met with to go over what our current diet was and how we could make changes that would really make a difference. The Nutrictionist recommended a book called Good Food, Great Medicene written by a Cardiologist and his sister internist Miles Hassell MD and Mea Hassell. A Mediterranean Diet & Lifestyle Guide for heart disease, stroke,type 2 diabetes and weight loss that is my go to book for wisdom and great recipes. (Available on Amazon). I highly recommend Cardio Rehab! It will give you the confidence we all need after going through what we have and hopefully spur each of us on to new diciplines that will add many more years of good health for us.
Jim @thankful

Thanks for sharing your story pretty similar to mine. I love your positivity and decision to embrace the process and keep it moving.. I had a sudden HA 100% blockage. I was one that watched my diet. exercised regularly didn't drink or smoke and yet. I found out afterwards it seemed to-be heredity Keep sending strengthening words by sharing your story.

Regards

@imccary Id like to add my welcome to this group of caring people . I had a CABG and the Dr had me go to Rehab afterwards . When I came back from this I still Did walking and just light exercises he gave me till I got stronger . Don't get discouraged it takes awhile. I changed my eating to a vegetarian diet without red meat as the Dr told me to get of red meat as the fat content of it . So I only eat it now occasionally . My CABG was in 1996 When tired I don't push it . So take care listen to the Dr and your body

@jaguar737- Thanks for your kind words!
I too was 100% blocked in my LAD which they referred to the "widow maker". I don't think I ever realized how serious that was at the time. In fact I really didn't consider calling an ambulance, but decided to have my wife drive me to the ER. NOT VERY SMART!
I was the 1st one in my family even going back to great grandfathers that has had a heart attack. Non-smoker, exersice 3x week, active lifestyle and for the most part eat healthy. My job as a contractor was stressful and my cholesterol was a bit higher than it should have been, I'm sure that had something to do with it, but all in all feel very fortunate!
Jim @thankful

Thanks to all for the kind and helpful replies.

My very ordinary CABG occurred in 2014 and I took rehab as long as they’d let me. I recall no guidance on subsequent. exercise. The current CPG Rx, as you probably recall, is 150 mins of exercise a week or 75 mins of more strenuous exercise. I couldn’t find an MD who could explain how to measure “exercise” or “strenuous exercise”, or whether this rule applied to us CABG vets. Google told me yesterday that “METs” are the measures, but not how to find my own MET output. I’d welcome any hints you’ve heard. A complication is that in rehab they put an upper limit on a pulse rate of about 125 or so (I’m 78). Thanks again!

@imccray I didn't know who you responded to put a @then name of person this helps us .I do want to say my cardiologist just told me to resume my normal life after my by pass I'm 78 in Oct That's a good heart rate it goes higher when you do cardio so sounds like your in good shape 😊

@amandaburnett —. Thanks for the boost. I found ACC/AHA guidelines that filled all but two gaps in designing a useful COVID-era exercise regime. My daily walks can provide more than the Rx’d 200-MET-minutes-per-week target. The gaps: (1) My preferred route involves 18-20 floors of elevation and thus some more METs, but I don’t see how to count them. (2) In my CABG rehab they limited my pulse rate by the usual “220 minus age” formula, which is not ref’d in the guidelines at all. Has the pulse limit been relaxed? At my age the limit is pretty low, and the risk of exceeding it was never stated. Thanks again. If you bump into clearer guidance, I’ll follow it . . . even after I can get back to the gym, some fine day.

@thankful Hi Jim I like your post and completely agree with your take on cardio rehab and the Mediterranean diet. I was the same both times I went, first time due to my old heart arrhythmias I was so nervous that I was going to do more damage to my heart but having the monitor on really helped get past the fears. Then again after my heart transplant my fears are back that this new object in my chest which I knew nothing about was going to fail. It's funny that when it the heart you kinda really need it. So I can relate to your fear of another HA. What a relief to hear the techs when you say oh what was that and they check your heart monitor and everything is just fine. Well talk to you later
Have a Blessed Day
Dana

@danab- Thanks Dana! I have also made lifelong friends there. It seems when we go through tramatic times and converse regularly we tend to let our hair down and actually get to know each other real well. Two of the guys still go to cardiac rehab and pay a small fee because of the comradery of the group and they figure if anything was ever going to happen they are in the right place!
I participate back at the gym I've gone to for many years, but when ever I find myself out near the hospital before 11:00 AM I always stop by to say hello. Jim @thankful