Coming back after a Heart Attack

[V12man]

Thanks Richard I was probably very lucky and extremely blessed. Last year whilst doing the Carnival City I had this pain in my chest and battled to breath. Thought it was after effects of bronchitis. Later the afternoon it got worse and I went to emergency at Olivedale They did an ECG which was fine and while waiting for the blood results it happened I know nothing but was told later that they had to resusitate me and shocked me a few times to get my heart going again

 

I understand the importance of working with the Doc but would like to hear from other cyclists in similar situations how they handled it

 

Hi all Blockers.........

 

i have joint the club yesterday i am on 5mg of Beta Blockers. I would like any feedback from users regarding training and heart rate.......i battle without the pills to cycle and now with the pills what is going to happen??   

 

and i have a defibrillator which was implanted 4 years ago and it gave me a shock a few weekends ago.........this event made the cardiologist put me on the blockers...

What is going to happen is a broad question indeed:

 

1 - the Beta blocker will reduce your max heart rate both when exercising and at rest

2 - you will feel somewhat more relaxed as a result of the meds - possibly even slightly lethargic

3 - you will not feel as strong riding as when you were not taking the meds (and your performance will be reduced a bit)

4 - You MUST follow the advice of your cardiologist EXACTLY with regard to your training and rehabilitation - there must be a reason you have an implant already, and in general I would say avoid high intensity riding and racing.

5 - if you don't trust your cardiologist to advise you correctly, get one you do trust asap... avoid google entirely, and do not follow the advice of anyone except your cardiologist and/or anyone he has refferred you to.

 

Frankly, depending on the cause of your cardiac issues, you might want to consider joining a cardiac rehab program - at least initially anyway - the operators of these programs are usually well skilled at helping you deal with excercise related issues - ask your cardiologist to refer you to a group.

[Help.Me.]

What is going to happen is a broad question indeed:

 

1 - the Beta blocker will reduce your max heart rate both when exercising and at rest

2 - you will feel somewhat more relaxed as a result of the meds - possibly even slightly lethargic

3 - you will not feel as strong riding as when you were not taking the meds (and your performance will be reduced a bit)

4 - You MUST follow the advice of your cardiologist EXACTLY with regard to your training and rehabilitation - there must be a reason you have an implant already, and in general I would say avoid high intensity riding and racing.

5 - if you don't trust your cardiologist to advise you correctly, get one you do trust asap... avoid google entirely, and do not follow the advice of anyone except your cardiologist and/or anyone he has refferred you to.

 

Frankly, depending on the cause of your cardiac issues, you might want to consider joining a cardiac rehab program - at least initially anyway - the operators of these programs are usually well skilled at helping you deal with excercise related issues - ask your cardiologist to refer you to a group.

thanks very much V12man

 

i understand that every person/situation are unique.

 

What really baffles me is the following.

 

I had a shock about 3 months after the implant (2011) it was then due to parameters that needed fine tuning. I was training for the TB and was not feeling bad/sick at the time. We came to the conclusion that the road surface , the higher hear rate etc played a role. The parameters was adjusted accordingly, and i did not have any other experience.

 

Now 4 years later and with a lot of cycling and pushing my limits it happened when i am just getting back on to the bike after been "sleg" all winter. I really started very slowly with spinning at low HR. 

 

I got sick was on a double dose of antibiotics and did not cycle for about 3 weeks. The shock happened during that time period. I was off the pills and had a few glasses of red wine before going to bed. When all hell broke lose with this thing kicking me like a mule......first i taught it was a thunder bolt that hit me i actually "saw some blue sparks"

 

Again i did not feel bad (maybe a bit tipsy from the wine).

 

When i went to the doc on Monday one can clearly see how the defibrillator tried at first to pace me out of the condition and then BOOM hit me. My HR went up to 206 during the episode.

 

The technician comment was that "that was the reason for the implant to save my live later on and man it did just that.

 

My concern why only now does the doc prescribe the Beta Blockers? We looked at the graphs where i was doing exercise and there was nothing out of the ordinary it actually look very smooth etc.

 

To me it is just a little frustrating because i am a fairly big oke 105kg and 185cm i am already battling to go uphill and this is definitely going to hamper me more..........

 

I will definitely follow the dos advice i am sure he knows best. I just need some input from people already on Beta Blockers and people like you that understand the mind of our cycling blokes. 

 

Thanks for all your valuable input!!!

[V12man]

thanks very much V12man

 

i understand that every person/situation are unique.

 

What really baffles me is the following.

 

I had a shock about 3 months after the implant (2011) it was then due to parameters that needed fine tuning. I was training for the TB and was not feeling bad/sick at the time. We came to the conclusion that the road surface , the higher hear rate etc played a role. The parameters was adjusted accordingly, and i did not have any other experience.

 

Now 4 years later and with a lot of cycling and pushing my limits it happened when i am just getting back on to the bike after been "sleg" all winter. I really started very slowly with spinning at low HR. 

 

I got sick was on a double dose of antibiotics and did not cycle for about 3 weeks. The shock happened during that time period. I was off the pills and had a few glasses of red wine before going to bed. When all hell broke lose with this thing kicking me like a mule......first i taught it was a thunder bolt that hit me i actually "saw some blue sparks"

 

Again i did not feel bad (maybe a bit tipsy from the wine).

 

When i went to the doc on Monday one can clearly see how the defibrillator tried at first to pace me out of the condition and then BOOM hit me. My HR went up to 206 during the episode.

 

The technician comment was that "that was the reason for the implant to save my live later on and man it did just that.

 

My concern why only now does the doc prescribe the Beta Blockers? We looked at the graphs where i was doing exercise and there was nothing out of the ordinary it actually look very smooth etc.

 

To me it is just a little frustrating because i am a fairly big oke 105kg and 185cm i am already battling to go uphill and this is definitely going to hamper me more..........

 

I will definitely follow the dos advice i am sure he knows best. I just need some input from people already on Beta Blockers and people like you that understand the mind of our cycling blokes. 

 

Thanks for all your valuable input!!!

You are welcome - I havn't really told you anything that's not common knowledge

 

I am not going to try and second guess why your cardiologist has only placed you on meds now - he knows your history better than me - but he is for sure trying to prevent another incident - they have a tendency to get worse each time....

 

The only advice I can give you to help your climbing is to lose some weight (at 105 and 1.85 you have some room to move) - your cardiologist will like this too - be aware that people taking beta blockers tend to add weight, so be very aware of this, and start managing it early.

 

Keep in mind at all times that slow up a hill is better than not getting to the bottom of the hill - sure you will be slower, but what is more important? fast or alive and slow? ask your family if you are not 100% on that....

 

And 1 more thing - make sure you wear an ICEID or similar tag when you ride that warns about the implant.

[hayleyearth]

Hi Guys - I need some help. I am back from a heart attack one year ago and recovered 100%. However I am still on medication that cause my heart rate to go to a maximum of about 120 to 125. This apparently is due to a "Beta Blocker" that I take that acts as a governor on the heart. I am extremely happy with my Cardiologist and what he did for me but he does not understand that in cycling I mean doing 120km's on a Saturday and same on Sunday. He said I can train and ride as before but with this blocker it is impossible as my legs just don't want to go.

 

Enough about the history. I need to go and see someone with a sports background / experience in endurance sport that can help me to assess the medication and if anything else is available. Can you guys recommend someone in Johannesburg or Pretoria

 

 

Who is your cardiologist? I know someone very good at Milpark, Dr. Patel. I can not have asked for better service till now (almost 3 years now). He might not have a history in cycling, but understands the sport and my needs for it. The advice I got from him in May this year has got be back into riding full on now after a 'almost 3 years' struggle.

 

I find him to be super through (actually all 3 specialists I have are, pulmonologist and a vascular surgeon incl.). I do have regular visits to them though (now almost every 6 months), so they know me basically by name.

 

Something that has been in my head for the last couple of days/weeks is that we should come to terms that an 'event'/'illness'/... infuence each person differently. Some people might have gone through the same than you and recovered within a month or year or even never will, but it is up to you to listen to your body and analyse the signs it gives you. And if you find the right group of people to work with you, they will listen and advice accordingly.

 

Good luck.

And take it from someone that 'didnt understand the struggle for almost 3 years' ....BE PATIENT! DONT BE TO HARD ON YOURSELF.

 

 

Edit: I didnt have a heart attack, but a few other things that lead to my heart now being monitored with the lungs etc.