Man van Staal - cycling after a stent implant

[Live5]

As a result of a hectic genetic marker and some very bad lifestyle choices I am now a 40 year old owner of three stents. This first was at 32 after a MI in the LAD. At the time I was a smoker and generally sedentary for probably 10 years. After the episode I slipped into a rather nasty cycle (excuse the pun) of depression and despite some early changes soon slipped back into the pattern if not worse than before. Fast forward 7 years. I literally reached the end. It was either up or down and I kicked the habit, bought a bicycle and rode it like i stole it, 20kgs later and in arguably the best shape I have been in years I was making remarkably progress moving in 7 months form a indoor trainer to doing the work commute 35km (one way) several times a week as well as exploiting the best the cape peninsula offers on the weekends. About two weeks ago I suddenly hit a wall. My performance slipped sharply and suspecting a touch of overtraining I tapped off in anticipation of my first stage race. That went badly and I decided it best to consult my cardiologist as well as my GP. Long story ... as it already is ... short, turns out I was severely dehydrated (GP tests) on the day but also that there were some significant narrowing in my right artery (courtesy of my cardio) They were in fact present in 2006 but had deteriorated some and my cardiologist a keen cyclist himself suggested that although if i was older he would leave it alone, given my age and cycling interest it would be better to have them opened. So that brings me to today. All the plumbing is clean (courtesy of two more springs) I have a life threatening chronic condition and a deep desire to live my life to the full including cycling. According to the doc there is no evidence either way of whether intense exercise has any impact on outcomes in my situation. His advice is go for it. The benefits he reckons outweigh the negatives. So in two weeks (to allow the femoral arteries to heal) I climb on my bike and head off. The point of the post other than being a tale of woe is to:

 

1. Share my story with others. If you have been through this you will know how lonely it is, if you are going through it you will know how debilitating scary it is. I don't profess to have all or even many of the answers but I have learnt some and if you would like to I would be happy to chat

 

2. I am facing an interesting challenge in improving my fitness and general skills in the face of little or no conclusive evidence. I would love a referral to a sports doctor / fitness coach that gets it. I am not looking for cardio rehad but rather a performance coach that is cardio aware. I drive myself to hard and need a counterbalance to slow me down.my FIL @ 59 did the Trans Baviaans in 13 odd hours and I want to celebrate i

His 60th next year with him. Before anyone gets excited i will do this within my limits and with advice! If you have been through this i would appreciate you experince.

 

3. If any of you have had early onset CAD - I would be interested in your views re preventative or reversal claims by guys like Dr Ornish. I have young kids and a wife still far to hot to give up to some other guy and I need to stack some chips in my favour. I have a non negotiable goal of 60, would love to make 70 and it would give me a semi (probably all I would manage at that stage) to make 80 and flip the bird at the odds.

[Harry Potter]

Strongs, looks like your mind is in the right place?, hope you reach 100,

 

Welcome to theHUB

[davetapson]

Maybe have a look at the LCHF thread - there is mounting evidence that the 'healthy heart diet' is anything but.

 

http://www.thehubsa....fat-diet-ver-2/

 

Also follow @ProfTimNoakes on twitter for info on what is actually heart healthy.

 

Rgds

 

Dave

on

Edited December 12, 2013 by davetapson

[V12man]

I would suggest you have a chat with Dr Martin Schwelnus at Sport Science - he will know an appropriate person to help you through it in CT - I would suggest Ian Rodger, but there may be someone more appropriate in CT.

[jkoorts]

what is FIL and CAD?

[Live5]

FIL = father in law

CAD = coronary artery disease

[Live5]

Shot for the feedback okes - will definitely look up Dr Schwelnus!

[igknot]

I am not a doctor and dont provide medical advice. This is anecdotal only.

 

Since retiring my folks got really active. My dad took up MTB and yoga. They 5 - 10km a day. They are now 70.

They started planning a hiking trip in south america.

My mother had a mild heart attack early in august. that was undiagnosed. Then in Sept it was big one. Spent a few days in ICU and had stent put in. Three days after the stent she was back walking. And they just returned from venezuala and peru after spending a month backpacking like young people. She did this within 2 month of the stent.

[Genius 20]

I had 2 stents put in 8 years ago and have lived and exercised with no problem. I swim 1,5kms twice a week and do a fair amount of riding on weekends. My cardio was no help in guiding me with exercise and what heart rate I should not exceed. A GP did however.

My stats are 59 years old, 1,82m, 110 kgs so she advised that I not exceed a heart rate of 138 bpm. I have adapted my cycling to spend more time in the saddle as opposed to an hour at max heart rate. It has worked for me and am living to tell a tale despite a scare recently of one of the stents being blocked.

This is where you need to be careful - blocked stent when you are really pushing it does not bode well. Take it easy and enjoy the ride.

[Teardrop]

At the age of 29 received my first stent. Live healthy, non smoker, cycling and active lifestyle. My problem comes with genetics. Family is prone to high cholesterol.

 

One piece of advice that I would like to put forward: (hopefully you understand Afrikaans)

Enige iets met die word: "te" voor aan is sleg vir jou

te veel

te groot

te hoog

te lag

te lekker

te goed

 

Behalwe te voet en te perd.

 

What it basically comes down to is that everything in moderation can be good, but as soon as you over do it, even if it is good. It will become bad and bite you in the arse!

Edited December 18, 2013 by Teardrop

[Blackadder]

Thanks for sharing. I had an aortic dissection in 2010, and have a stent as a result. Took six months before I could start exercising, I now cycle 6-8 hours a week.

 

Only advice I can offer is to take things one day at a time, and not to do anything that involves sudden bursts of energy or acute stress. Oddly enough, the one thing my cardio insisted I give up was skydiving, for much that reason. Also limited to no weight training.

 

I have an stress-ECG every six months, which is quite reassuring.

 

I know your CAD is different, but if it helps, this is a handy website run by a triathlete with a stent: http://athletewithstent.com/2011/08/30/hey-fit-old-dogs-do-you-want-to-do-an-ironman/

[Live5]

Cheers for the replies guys.

 

Not that this is something that I would wish on my worst enemy, but it is great to hear from guys that have been through the same thing and have come out strong. I know I went through years of turmoil before I recovered a semblance of the previous me. Support from guys that have experienced this is worth a great deal because one know it is not patronising. If I in turn can provide some of that support I am more than happy - pay it forward!

 

Teardrop - ek is te vol k&k as jy vir my vrou vrae ten minste

 

I hear you as I do have a tendency to overdo things! I have seriously relooked at my approach and although I will continue to aim high the immediate urgency will need to be toned down. As my little pic says - I may not win immediately but I will win definitely! I will merely build up to what my body can handle comfortable over time, there is no rush.

 

I have through my GP been referred to a non invasive Cardio in Constantiaberg. Have an appointment in the new year. What he does is take a look at all of the risk factors (comprehensive if you consider the blood test list!) and will advise you of what exactly you can do to reduce the risk as much as possible in his considered opinion.

 

This is what I have missed from my Cardio. Don't get me wrong he is a great guys but he addresses my questions in a general sense with pretty dismissive answers like "The rest is in Gods hands". While I do agree with him, what I have been looking for is the latest thinking. I don't think the general docs have a clear view on premature CAD in all honesty. If the interweb searches I have done is anything to go by there is scant little available in fairness to them.

 

I want to know that I am doing everything I can do. So lets see what he says. I will post back here with my experience.

[threebob]

As a result of a hectic genetic marker and some very bad lifestyle choices I am now a 40 year old owner of three stents. This first was at 32 after a MI in the LAD. At the time I was a smoker and generally sedentary for probably 10 years. After the episode I slipped into a rather nasty cycle (excuse the pun) of depression and despite some early changes soon slipped back into the pattern if not worse than before. Fast forward 7 years. I literally reached the end. It was either up or down and I kicked the habit, bought a bicycle and rode it like i stole it, 20kgs later and in arguably the best shape I have been in years I was making remarkably progress moving in 7 months form a indoor trainer to doing the work commute 35km (one way) several times a week as well as exploiting the best the cape peninsula offers on the weekends. About two weeks ago I suddenly hit a wall. My performance slipped sharply and suspecting a touch of overtraining I tapped off in anticipation of my first stage race. That went badly and I decided it best to consult my cardiologist as well as my GP. Long story ... as it already is ... short, turns out I was severely dehydrated (GP tests) on the day but also that there were some significant narrowing in my right artery (courtesy of my cardio) They were in fact present in 2006 but had deteriorated some and my cardiologist a keen cyclist himself suggested that although if i was older he would leave it alone, given my age and cycling interest it would be better to have them opened. So that brings me to today. All the plumbing is clean (courtesy of two more springs) I have a life threatening chronic condition and a deep desire to live my life to the full including cycling. According to the doc there is no evidence either way of whether intense exercise has any impact on outcomes in my situation. His advice is go for it. The benefits he reckons outweigh the negatives. So in two weeks (to allow the femoral arteries to heal) I climb on my bike and head off. The point of the post other than being a tale of woe is to:

 

1. Share my story with others. If you have been through this you will know how lonely it is, if you are going through it you will know how debilitating scary it is. I don't profess to have all or even many of the answers but I have learnt some and if you would like to I would be happy to chat

 

2. I am facing an interesting challenge in improving my fitness and general skills in the face of little or no conclusive evidence. I would love a referral to a sports doctor / fitness coach that gets it. I am not looking for cardio rehad but rather a performance coach that is cardio aware. I drive myself to hard and need a counterbalance to slow me down.my FIL @ 59 did the Trans Baviaans in 13 odd hours and I want to celebrate i

His 60th next year with him. Before anyone gets excited i will do this within my limits and with advice! If you have been through this i would appreciate you experince.

 

3. If any of you have had early onset CAD - I would be interested in your views re preventative or reversal claims by guys like Dr Ornish. I have young kids and a wife still far to hot to give up to some other guy and I need to stack some chips in my favour. I have a non negotiable goal of 60, would love to make 70 and it would give me a semi (probably all I would manage at that stage) to make 80 and flip the bird at the odds.

Well you have an interesting story mine is not exactly the samebut I only started to cycle at 51yrs,my first stage race I took on was the Joberg 2c in 2010 after 12 months of cycling.Anyhow 3months before the race it was discovered that I had an irregular heart beat ,go from 50bpm to 200bpm and so on.I felt tired on a training ride,thought I had a virus anyhow lots of test later they discovered the problem and with my father passing away at 59 due to a heart condition it was a concern.Med didn't help so I was admitted for shock treatment which returned my heart rate back to regular.I went for a check up and the doc asked me about my cycling and my answer was that im not stopping so I went in for a angiogram and all ok,anyhow I kept training and the weekend before the Joberg2c the problem re occurred, I had done all the training and I said to the doc that there is no way im not doing the race so back into hospital ,shock treatment a few pills and off I went and completed the race.The moral of the story is that these condition can be managed and cycling is a wonder full sport to enjoy and the health benefits are second to none,also always find a positive doc but of course don't be stupid

[The_Real_Jacko]

I had high cholestrol which I left untreated (lekker hardegat en slim, ne?) through my 30s.

 

Then at 41, three years ago, I had a heart attack or MI (myocardiac infarction - or, my-oh!-cardiac in-FARK!-shun ). I had to drive myself to the hospital, but I got excellent care at Milnerton Medi-Clinic and then off to Panorama Heart Clinic where dr. Pierre Roux put in two titanium stents in.

 

When you have a heart attack you are weak for a few days and weeks. You are *** scared. You experience anxiety.

 

I was advised to start exercising. It is here though, that our conventional medicine, or the application thereof, sorely lacks because I had no guidance whatsoever. Thankfully an older doc and Internist, dr. Benkenstein, phoned me out of the blue. He had heard about my MI and studied at Stellenbosch under my father's uncle. He's quite an athlete and then gave me the advice to keep my heart rate at under 120 for the first week or three, gradually increasing it.

 

I did a lot of stationary cycling, rowing and then gradually started to run. Eight months later I did the Two Oceans half-marathon. In three months I'm doing my fourth Two Oceans.

 

Oh, and just over a week ago I bought my first MTB, hence my membership here.

 

I think us MI survivors need to give ourselves a big pat on the back, sit back and chill out. We can be very hard on ourselves. I had a bout of depression and anxiety some time ago, but thankfully I got through that with some DIY cognitive behavioural therapy and mild anti-anxiety medication to handle the few instances where I felt quite scared. And I say this as someone who was a paratrooper in the SADF. Yes, I was *** scared. There, I said it. There is no shame in being scared when confronted with your mortality. If not, you're a psychopath.

 

We are human. We run, we fall. We laugh, we cry. We reach heights in our jobs, we get knocked down. We get hurt. But we get back in the saddle again. Because to live is to experience all these emotions. And if we look into ourselves we can actually get out on the other side stronger.

 

To be sure, this is no Hollywood movie with a happy ending. We are forever changed after such an event. We can never be totally carefree again. The trauma still lurks there in the shadows. But we can acknowledge it, face it and control it. And when you eventually succeed in doing that (it takes effort and some focus, but is a realistic outcome for all of us), you will be "strong like lion."

 

Sterkte daar, Live5!

[Cois]

My dad had an MI on his bike. Almost died in a nature reserve. But he chose a good riding partner. My mom who knows how to handle situations like that.

Two years ago he had another MI and then few weeks back he had another little incident.

So a few stints later he is still on the bike. He joins my mom most days to work on the bike (we are a commuting family)

Have a lot of respect for my dad, but he still has the mental block of not pushing it.

They don't use the tandem any more, the road bikes are covered under dust.

But at least the dogs are getting their adventure on most days. A 7 km walk.

Scary part is that it is a family illness, so will have to get back on the LCHF diet again. Just need to get my fiancé to see that it works and that pasta is evil...

[FrancoisC]

My grandmother started walking 5km a day many years ago, at the age of 70.

She is 82 today and we don't know where the hell she's gotten to.......