Anyone training after angioplasty?

[nuck]

Started getting chest pain while shovelling snow this winter, and multiple tests later I am going in for an Angiogram this week. I am 50 years old. No pain benching but I feel something after just a few minutes on the treadmill. This hit me for the first time after a 3 month layoff in training to rest a coupe of injuries. Kind of just put me over the edge I guess. I am expecting they will probably stint me.
What changes do you have to make in training after this kind of treatment? Assuming one makes the diet changes they order, what is the frequency of reoccurence of the blockage? I know my Dr will give me the speech he gives everyone, but I would be interested in the personal experiences of other weight trainers. Thanks for any responses.

[drewkawa]

Started getting chest pain while shovelling snow this winter, and multiple tests later I am going in for an Angiogram this week. I am 50 years old. No pain benching but I feel something after just a few minutes on the treadmill. This hit me for the first time after a 3 month layoff in training to rest a coupe of injuries. Kind of just put me over the edge I guess. I am expecting they will probably stint me.
What changes do you have to make in training after this kind of treatment? Assuming one makes the diet changes they order, what is the frequency of reoccurence of the blockage? I know my Dr will give me the speech he gives everyone, but I would be interested in the personal experiences of other weight trainers. Thanks for any responses.

Anything heart related I would take extremely seriously. Your Dr. might give you the "speech" but it's not like we're talking about an ankle sprain or anything... it's your heart! Listen to them, heed their advice and take it step by step. (We want you around Nuck!)

-Drew





Here's an article that might be of some assistance.

Url:http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/g...rcise-patients

Safe Exercise for Heart Disease Patients
Reviewed by Jonathan L Gelfand, MD on March 07, 2010
© 2010 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.


If you have a loved one who's recently been diagnosed with heart disease or had heart surgery, the doctor probably told you that exercise is an important part of keeping the condition under control. But is it safe for him to keep exercising like he has been, or does your loved one need to make some changes? And what exercises are best?

Here are some things to discuss with the doctor:

Recommended Related to Fitness & Exercise

Medication changes: New medications can greatly affect your response to exercise; your loved one's doctor can tell you if his normal exercise routine is still safe.

Heavy lifting Make sure that lifting or pushing heavy objects and chores such as raking, shoveling, mowing, or scrubbing aren't off limits. Chores around the house can be tiring for some people; make sure your loved one only does what he's able to do without getting tired.

Safe exercises Get the doctor's approval before you let the patient lift weights, use a weight machine, jog, or swim.

General workout tips for heart disease patients:

Be sure any exercise is paced and balanced with rest.
Avoid encouraging isometric exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups. Isometric exercises involve straining muscles against other muscles or an immovable object.

Don't let the patient exercise outdoors when it is too cold, hot, or humid. High humidity may cause you to tire more quickly; extreme temperatures can interfere with circulation, make breathing difficult, and cause chest pain. Better choices are indoor activities such as mall walking.

Make sure your loved one stays hydrated. It is important to drink water even before you feel thirsty, especially on hot days.

Extremely hot and cold showers or sauna baths should be avoided after exercise. These extreme temperatures increase the workload on your heart.
Have your loved one steer clear of exercise in hilly areas. If he must walk in steep areas, ask him to slow down when going uphill to avoid working too hard. Have him monitor his heart rate closely.

If the patient's exercise program has been interrupted for a few days (for example, due to illness, vacation, or bad weather), ease him back into his routine. He should start with a reduced level of activity and gradually increase it until he's back where he started.

[nuck]

Anything heart related I would take extremely seriously. Your Dr. might give you the "speech" but it's not like we're talking about an ankle sprain or anything... it's your heart! Listen to them, heed their advice and take it step by step. (We want you around Nuck!)

-Drew

Thanks Drew. I am not looking for when to start working out etc. I understand this isn't the typical injury rehab and that I need to follow the Cardiologist's directions.
More like for those who did have this, how long was the discomfort? Were they ever able to get back to 100%? Were there any complications? How did they feel 6 months after, compared to before? How long ago did they have it done? That sort of thing. Even second hand information is welcome.

[Hogan1956]

Started getting chest pain while shovelling snow this winter, and multiple tests later I am going in for an Angiogram this week. I am 50 years old. No pain benching but I feel something after just a few minutes on the treadmill. This hit me for the first time after a 3 month layoff in training to rest a coupe of injuries. Kind of just put me over the edge I guess. I am expecting they will probably stint me.
What changes do you have to make in training after this kind of treatment? Assuming one makes the diet changes they order, what is the frequency of reoccurence of the blockage? I know my Dr will give me the speech he gives everyone, but I would be interested in the personal experiences of other weight trainers. Thanks for any responses.

Howdy Nuck,

I had angioplasty Feb 09 but the blockage was in my left leg. It ran from the groin all the way to the knee. Whether a stent is or not depends on the artery after clearing it. If it collapses again a stent will be installed but if it remains open they won't install on the 1st go around.
Discomfort is only a day or 2, but no heavy lifting for the 1st 90 days while the entry point heals. First and formost your doctor will want you to start walking. He will be looking for 30 minutes a day out of you. After the artery has had a chance to heal unless they find some damage around your heart i bet your doctor will clear you for lifting again and just tell you to take it slow. You may be on Plavix for awhile and he may put you on a low dose aspirin for the rest of your days.

I have had no reoccurance and it gets checked every 6 months. I walk 49 minutes 6 days a week and lift 2 on 1 off. Back and biceps day 1... chest, shoulders, and triceps day 2... legs and abs day 3. Working 2 on 1 off hits each body part once each 4 days.

[Corbi]

No angioplasty here but did have open heart surgery to repair a genetically defective mitral valve. That was march of 09, within 5 weeks I was playing golf again although it was just the par 3 courses in the area. Started weight lifting last may and have never felt better, zero restrictions on what I can do or rather what I want to do. Typically I weight train 4-5 days a week and my Drs have told me it's perfectly fine and safe.

[nuck]

Got out of the hospital today. They found a 95% blockage and stinted me. The angiogram was painless. The stinting, not so nice. They had some trouble getting the balloon through and inflated so the blood was cut off to the heart for a few seconds a couple of times. An unpleasant feeling compared to what I had heard from a couple of other people that had the procedure. Feel like I have the flu today. Weak and the chest is still sore. Nothing to be done about it now except take a few days off of work. I will update again when I am actually allowed to go back to working out.

Food for thought if you are getting little chest and arm aches. Last summer I was running hard before work 4 days a week and most of my dicomfort I wrote off to GI issues. I would have had over 90% blockage at the time and only thought I needed more cardio for better stamina. I would have probably been dead if I tried to do that 3 days ago.

[Hogan1956]

Got out of the hospital today. They found a 95% blockage and stinted me. The angiogram was painless. The stinting, not so nice. They had some trouble getting the balloon through and inflated so the blood was cut off to the heart for a few seconds a couple of times. An unpleasant feeling compared to what I had heard from a couple of other people that had the procedure. Feel like I have the flu today. Weak and the chest is still sore. Nothing to be done about it now except take a few days off of work. I will update again when I am actually allowed to go back to working out.

Food for thought if you are getting little chest and arm aches. Last summer I was running hard before work 4 days a week and most of my dicomfort I wrote off to GI issues. I would have had over 90% blockage at the time and only thought I needed more cardio for better stamina. I would have probably been dead if I tried to do that 3 days ago.

Happy to see you made it thru and look forward to your reports on how quickly you feel better.

[rets1982]

Sir im 31 yr old male had gone angioplasty with 1 stent and nw im ok wit running n other cardio exercises can i start wit heavy weight training n can hav 6-7 egg white for my protein requurments im taking my meds regularly

[BuddyIncognito]

I have only recently began adding strength training to my lifestyle changes that I implemented. In December 2012, I was driving some of my family to a family Christmas gathering about 45 minutes from our home. Three days before Christmas of 2012 to be exact. I began to experience all the common symptoms we are warned about relating to heart attacks or heart problems.

I pulled over to the side of the Interstate and had a family member call 911. I did have angioplasty that day as one of my arteries was 99% blocked. A stent was placed that day and I was out of the hospital the following day. Since that time, I began to make healthier choices concerning my life but the only thing I really did at the gym, until recently, was cardio in a nice climate controlled environment. Now, after a little less than 3 full weeks in the gym to add some strength training, aside from a few sore and tender muscles, I'm feeling even better now.

[Galactus]

I had an angiogram 5.5 years ago, but did not have any major blockages and therefore no stents. About 10% of angiogram patients have leg nerve problems afterwords, I was one of the lucky 10%. I didn't start lifting hard for about a year afterwards, because if I did the next day my leg would oftern spasm uncontrollably throughout the day. The leg problems did eventually go away though.

Overall, I am now the strongest I have ever been, so you should be OK.

I started back very tentatively, was really nervous about doing "heavy" weight which for me is 400+ on squats and deads and 300+ on bench. Took me about a year to feel comfortable doing anything near what was max weight before the prodedure. My bench was about 350 before it, and now I at 380 which is my best. My best deadlift prior had been 515 and now I can sometimes get 495 x4 and have done 535. So it took a good long while, but I was able to not only get back to where I was, but to also keep improving.

[BuddyIncognito]

Galactus, that is indeed inspiring to read your post.

[Galactus]

I may be an outlier because I was only 31 when I had it done, and also didn't have any major blockages. It does show that the procedure itself isn't that big of a deal. My cardiologist was being extra careful since my dad had his first heart attack at 37 and I had a bunch of risk factors and was having some chest pain. After the angiogram doctors concluded that the pain was either musco/skeletal (probably from lifting) or a panic attack. Stress test had came back "inconclusive".

OP-hopefully you are doing well. Just follow orders and don't do much for a couple of weeks. I felt pretty good within a few days as far as incincion pain, so had to be careful not to overdue things.

[Garage Rat]

It depends on what your cardiologist says you can do.
I had three stents put in four years ago.
Mine told me i could "climb mount Everest" if i wanted,his words after my femoral artery incision healed up.
That took roughly three weeks so i did a lot of walking.
Six weeks after i was back to my normal heavy for me lifting and competing in a highland games two months afterwards.
I guess it would depend on the individual and what their doctor says.
Good luck to you.

[BuddyIncognito]

Garage Rat & Galactus,
Love the comments. Yeah, it was my cardiologist who actually inspired me to begin making changes in my life. I started off really basic, just adjusting my diet to be more health focused and added a lot of walking and some biking. I have only recently chosen to add some strength training to my healthier living and I just feel great, aside from a little sore muscles. My cardiologist was pleased when I had asked him if going to the gym to add some strength training would be good. He said, "Absolutely! Go for it, be reasonable in your goals and expectation and learn to enjoy this new lifestyle."