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Heart Health Cardiac Rehabilitation

Cardiac Rehabilitation starts with the level of activity you can tolerate. But ... more

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DeadManWalking56

Joined: 05/10/2010

My Story:

I have severe atherosclerosis with ectasiac (long, stretched out) sections, and small aneurysms in primary cardiac arteries. I am blessed to also have (had ?) a complete secondary collateral capillary network which helps keep my activities somewhat normal, and allows me to exercise more vigorously than expected.

I had an emergency triple bypass Friday, January 13th, 2006. A dozen other 80% inoperable blockages further down the artery branches did not leave the doctors thinking I would fair very well. Two of my cardiac mains are totally blocked, only receiving blood flow from bypasses.

I've taken a gradual path on my cardiac rehab, mostly improving little by little with few setbacks in the past 4 years and 4 months. Some people find it inspirational, others don't want to hear about it.

But one of the biggest reasons to make yourself do SOMETHING every day, is that our skeletal muscles, those muscles that move our limbs and torso, act as an organ of the endocrine system producing chemicals that help to heal the body of what ails it. Don't exercise, or move in some way, and you slow your recovery, and allow your body to further weaken, making recovery more difficult.

What improvement have I achieved in rehab ? Spring 2009, I played badminton at the park for 3 hours, rarely needing a break. January 2010, I played some full court and half court basketball, with no one else over the age of 20. I was not run off the court.

In 2002-2005, I had a number of other health issues that wiped out my prior cardio conditioning and had me starting over every year. The bypass surgery in January 2006 had me start over yet again.

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Light to moderate weight training improves cholest...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20492685 Low and moderate weight lifting...

Posted by DeadManWalking56

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Reply: Key to Healthy Arteries

I wrote this as part of another discussion,and felt it gave a really good summary....

Posted by DeadManWalking56

I wrote this as part of another discussion,and felt it gave a really good summary.

Not many foods have been isolated as boosting EPCs directly, but they can be assisted pretty easily with good will power. Its amazing that with each reduction or elimination of a lifestyle risk factor for heart disease, EPCs are increased and function better to heal and protect the arteries. Its like "hiking" with a backpack so heavy that it requires you to crawl on the ground. As you lighten the load, you discover you can do more than barely move, then you can actually crawl, then you can finally stand, start to discern a pace, then begin to walk, and to run, and to be able to play.

Paraoxonases' functions in reversal of athersoclerosis are equally impressive. Green tea also seems to boost it, as does ... OLIVE OIL. Even better, an olive oil with a green tea extract was more effective at boosting paraoxonase. That is in another tip or resource I have posted. Perhaps just olive oil on the salad with green tea on the side as a beverage has the same effect.

Atherosclerosis reversal is a slow process. Fuhrman's studies noted an average of 5% a year, but that was without any focus on increased paraoxonase. But with paraoxonase as the major active factor for reversal, besides the passive factors of other lifestyle risk reductions, it may be much faster than 5% a year. We all hope so. Turbocharging HDL for LDL removal, an anti-oxidant boost, plus stimulating ox-LDL expulsion from blockage foam cells are individually pretty amazing results for a small dietary change.

Pomegranates are actually written about in the Bible, and have been and still are very popular in the Middle East. A co-worker has told me of families splitting an 8-inch pomegranate as dessert for an entire family. They seem to be perhaps one of the most critical fruits on the planet to eat for good health and to preserve the heart. Now we know at least one major function in what they do for health. Talk about a gift from Heaven.

DMWView Thread

Posted byDeadManWalking56

1 Reply | ReplyReport This| Share this:Key to Healthy Arteries I wrote this as part of another discussion,and felt it gave a really good summary....

Reply: Understanding how diet affects heart disease

http://forums.webmd.com/3/heart-health-cardiac-rehabilitation/tip/4 Diet also...

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Key to Healthy Arteries

Endothelial Progenitor Cells One of the body's natural stem cell varieties, EPCs...

Posted by DeadManWalking56

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1 Reply | ReplyReport This| Share this:Key to Healthy Arteries Endothelial Progenitor Cells One of the body's natural stem cell varieties, EPCs...

Understanding how diet affects heart disease

Heart patients are told to eat a lower fat diet, and some get a good explanation...

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How hard to exercise in the beginning

Exercise in rehabilitation need NEVER be hard. Rehabilitation is for recovery,...

Posted by DeadManWalking56

Exercise in rehabilitation need NEVER be hard.

Rehabilitation is for recovery, from illness or injury. The benefits of even light exercise are many. Among those are increased blood flow to the heart, and production of inflammation fighting substances that are carried by the blood throughout the body, helping you heal all over.

Getting tired in rehab is counter-productive, since you then had a negative experience, and may think "I can't do this."

One begins with what is doable. When I returned from the hospital after emergency bypass surgery, it was already a week since surgery. Walking was so slow, I think my steps were no more than a few inches long.

The first week home I did not do anything except walk to the bathroom and back as needed. very slowly .

The 2nd week I felt a little better, and I would add a walk to the kitchen and back to the couch once every hour, besides my bathroom walks.

Third week, I think I made the walk to the kitchen in a double loop. Increasing my distance. I could also walk a little faster.

You get the idea.

But as I progressed, I did not think of a "this is my final goal". Every week I wanted to do a little more.

About the 6th or 7th week, I could walk slowly around the block, about 1/3 of a mile. But I just did this once a day. I was also doing other short walks, normal things, around the house. Slow, but not as slow as before. My steps progressed to more than a foot long.

But if I did too much, and I tried to avoid that, I paid. If outdoors, I had to sit where I was about 15 minutes, then I could try to go back in the house, or get home to go back in the house. And I would be on my back a couple hours resting.

Managing the time and how hard the heart is working is aided by the heart rate monitor.

I was able to return to my workplace after 8 weeks of recovery. I still walked slowly compared to others at the office, but I was still improving every week, and my slow pace was in comparison to healthy people.

You can't plan on 8 weeks, but you can plan on slow and steady improvement.View Thread

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Reply: Use a heart rate monitor

I am partial to the Suunto T4 monitor, now the T4c. My monitor was out of...

Posted by DeadManWalking56

4 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:Use a heart rate monitor I am partial to the Suunto T4 monitor, now the T4c. My monitor was out of...

Use a heart rate monitor

The heart starts to tire before you FEEL tired. By using a monitor, you can...

Posted by DeadManWalking56

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4 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:Use a heart rate monitor The heart starts to tire before you FEEL tired. By using a monitor, you can...

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