Post-Heart Attack return to cycling...share your experience
09-10-20, 10:11 PM
#26
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Thanks for the kind words.
I know you are right and it was not all muscle, it just looks and feels that way in the mirror. The doc is now having me split my BP med in half and take one half in the morning and the other at night because I told her I was getting lightheaded when I stood up.
I want to do what it takes to get off the blood thinner because I don't want to take big risks but I do want to get back on the bike at least once, even if it is only 5-7 miles, before the snow flies here to get over that mental hurdle. I'm fine riding indoors for the winter to mitigate risk. but I hope to be occasionally outdoors at least in the late spring.
I am signed up for cardiac rehab starting next week. I hear that it is geared for people on the older end of the spectrum and that it might be too easy for me. Yours sounds more like what I would have hoped for.
I know you are right and it was not all muscle, it just looks and feels that way in the mirror. The doc is now having me split my BP med in half and take one half in the morning and the other at night because I told her I was getting lightheaded when I stood up.
I want to do what it takes to get off the blood thinner because I don't want to take big risks but I do want to get back on the bike at least once, even if it is only 5-7 miles, before the snow flies here to get over that mental hurdle. I'm fine riding indoors for the winter to mitigate risk. but I hope to be occasionally outdoors at least in the late spring.
I am signed up for cardiac rehab starting next week. I hear that it is geared for people on the older end of the spectrum and that it might be too easy for me. Yours sounds more like what I would have hoped for.
On the cardiac rehab they will quickly figure out how hard they can push you. I had issues resulting from an extremely high resting heart rate (90+ bpm) due to uncontrolled Graves disease, but by about the 5th session they figured that out and were pushing me enough that I felt like I had a good workout once they were done. They were very concerned because my heart rate would initially spike, but once they let me work thru that it would settle down into the range they wanted. Once they learned that they just kept pushing up the effort. I thought it was pretty worthwhile.
09-10-20, 10:38 PM
#27
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Damm this discussion is really scaring me to read. A friend of mine died a few days ago at age 64, in his sleep, from what everyone suspects was a heart attack. All of his many friends are shocked that it happened.
I will be turning 50 this year and have been planning to up my bicycling as a replacement for driving a car, which would entail speedy riding whenever possible, so that it doesn't take me 5 hours to ride a 50-mile route. Will the expected aging process soon force me to abandon this plan? I have abnormally low blood pressure, if that makes a difference.
I will be turning 50 this year and have been planning to up my bicycling as a replacement for driving a car, which would entail speedy riding whenever possible, so that it doesn't take me 5 hours to ride a 50-mile route. Will the expected aging process soon force me to abandon this plan? I have abnormally low blood pressure, if that makes a difference.
09-11-20, 08:08 AM
#28
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By the end of the second week, everybody, regardless of age or condition, was walking out saying, "Maybe I could have done a little bit more, but I think I'll go sit in the recliner for a few hours."
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09-11-20, 04:48 PM
#29
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I will be turning 50 this year and have been planning to up my bicycling as a replacement for driving a car, which would entail speedy riding whenever possible, so that it doesn't take me 5 hours to ride a 50-mile route. Will the expected aging process soon force me to abandon this plan? I have abnormally low blood pressure, if that makes a difference.
That was nasty, you cannot believe how much the sternum hurt.
On the cardiac rehab they will quickly figure out how hard they can push you. I had issues resulting from an extremely high resting heart rate (90+ bpm) due to uncontrolled Graves disease, but by about the 5th session they figured that out and were pushing me enough that I felt like I had a good workout once they were done. They were very concerned because my heart rate would initially spike, but once they let me work thru that it would settle down into the range they wanted. Once they learned that they just kept pushing up the effort. I thought it was pretty worthwhile.
On the cardiac rehab they will quickly figure out how hard they can push you. I had issues resulting from an extremely high resting heart rate (90+ bpm) due to uncontrolled Graves disease, but by about the 5th session they figured that out and were pushing me enough that I felt like I had a good workout once they were done. They were very concerned because my heart rate would initially spike, but once they let me work thru that it would settle down into the range they wanted. Once they learned that they just kept pushing up the effort. I thought it was pretty worthwhile.
09-12-20, 12:16 AM
#30
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In May of 2017, I had a 'neurological event' that my spinal specialist guessed may have been a seizure. I flopped around, BP went over 200, and my temp was 105. EMTs were at my house within 2 minutes, and I was sent home from the (****ty, terrible) hospital later that night.
My long time wonderful doctor retired, and I cannot seem to get a primary care physician. Anyhow, I had an EKG last year and this year, and each found blockages (arrythmias, not clogs). My nurse practitioner says I'm "perfect!!!" and I asked "how can a person with arrythmias be 'perfect'?" and she said "because your body is handling them well." She put me on 5mg Crestor, and we discussed exercise, weight loss, and diet change (my cholesterol is 209, LDL is like 136).
I ride about 100 miles weekly, and reading these posts, I am concerned as hell: my family history is consistent and bad when it comes to heart problems and heart failure.
I wish I could see a cardiologist but am dealing with so many other life problems right now that I can't imagine going on another quest. I got maybe-COVID in March (nurse practitioner and ER doctor thought so, though I tested negative) and since then it's really hard to take a deep breath. I feel like I'm on borrowed time (I'm 54, doesn't help that I did a ton of drugs in the 80's).
My long time wonderful doctor retired, and I cannot seem to get a primary care physician. Anyhow, I had an EKG last year and this year, and each found blockages (arrythmias, not clogs). My nurse practitioner says I'm "perfect!!!" and I asked "how can a person with arrythmias be 'perfect'?" and she said "because your body is handling them well." She put me on 5mg Crestor, and we discussed exercise, weight loss, and diet change (my cholesterol is 209, LDL is like 136).
I ride about 100 miles weekly, and reading these posts, I am concerned as hell: my family history is consistent and bad when it comes to heart problems and heart failure.
I wish I could see a cardiologist but am dealing with so many other life problems right now that I can't imagine going on another quest. I got maybe-COVID in March (nurse practitioner and ER doctor thought so, though I tested negative) and since then it's really hard to take a deep breath. I feel like I'm on borrowed time (I'm 54, doesn't help that I did a ton of drugs in the 80's).
11-04-20, 09:43 PM
#32
Newbie
A little update for this thread. It wasn’t much of a ride as rides go, a shade under 10 miles and just about 30 minutes BUT I got out on my bike today for the first time post “cardiac event”. 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Big thanks to my cardiologist and the PT’s at cardiac rehab for letting me push myself. It felt good. I wanted to go longer but promised my wife I wouldn't push it the first time on the road. My heart itself wasn't the big concern as I have been riding our Peloton pretty hard. I guess falling and injuring the the healing sternum is the concern. Another mental hurdle cleared.
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