Open heart surgery and activities afterwards

17 years ago

Just seeing if anyone has had this done along with a pacemaker installed. Can you still do the things you done before the surgery after the healing period was over? Sex,Hiking,Fishing,Hunting,Exercise,Bikeriding and Geo Caches...

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Comments (3)

runsnwalken
17 years ago
Heart disease from what I gather is a lot like having a disease thats always with you (Diabetes, HIV, herpes,ect- though you may not for sure 100% die from the actual problem as you will with some of these issues) it never really just "gets all better" Once you have a heart clogging, and you need meds your probably going to need to take the meds for the rest of your life.

Activities could improve with time but it doesn't mean the issue has been stopped completely .

Heart cells as well as brain cannot be replaced so, if your heart has been starved of oxygen during a heart attack you probably have lifelong issues!

Eating right can stop it from happening, and you are what you eat. Eat mc Donald's along with some other fast foods, salt and lots of fatty red meat-well... you've set yourself up. Enjoy blood pressure meds.
runsnwalken
17 years ago
watch body story heart attack on you tube, you'll learn.

i'm sorry.
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lilgreenfrog
17 years ago
Just passing through, and wanted to comment. I think it totally depends on WHY you needed open heart surgery and a pacemaker. I had my open heart surgery at 2 1/2, and pacemaker implant at 18. The surgery corrected a congenital defect and the pacemaker was to regulate function. Neither of these were a result of heart disease, and so there are no limitations on my activities; both actually improved my functioning markedly.

My grandmother had a valve replacement in her late 70's, as the valve finally gave out secondary to scarlet fever as a child. The surgery has much improved her quality of life, and her activities, such as they are, are not curtailed.

I would think that, depending on your current condition, your doctors would be encouraging at least mild exercise. You can't strengthen your heart any other way. It will also depend on how your pacemaker is programmed; you'll want to have the base rate and exercise responsiveness set to levels that give you maximum mobility and comfort. (For example, my intrinsic rhythm is about 40 bpm, and exercise response was almost zilch. My pacemaker base rate is set to 70, and exercise response is moderate - I don't want my heart doing 120 just because I went up a few stairs).

Certainly ask your doctor what you should expect; if your heart function has been declining for a while, it may take you a while to get it in shape enough to return to regular activity. If you do have heart disease, other lifestyle changes may be in order to lower your risk. I know my grandmother had PT after surgery, and she said they pushed her until she sweat buckets, but that she felt better afterward. While she didn't have blocked arteries, I know her heart tissue was/is very fragile, but they pushed her to exercise it.

Unless you are in very poor health, the above activities shouldn't be too strenuous for you after surgery.
Good luck!

Lara

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Open heart surgery and activities afterwards

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runsnwalken

runsnwalken

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lilgreenfrog

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