From Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme to Coronary Artery Bypass

(My Heart Attack Story Part 3)

My cardiologist had recommended that I attend the Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme that the hospital provided. I said I would, but I had no intention of going.

I was being discharged and that was that. - I was putting this incident behind me, and forgetting about it as quickly as possible.

Once I got home from hospital though, life wasn’t as it used to be.

My emotions were in turmoil. On the one hand I was ready to go out and prove to myself, and the world, that I was fit and capable of anything. On the other hand, I was absolutely terrified to be leaving the 24-hour monitoring that I had been having in the hospital.

It was strange being home. Looking back Pam had a tougher time than me. How she had the patience I’ll never know.

I guess it’s the same with every relationship when you are faced with any serious disease.

The heart attack had happened at night so even when I went to bed I didn’t want to go to sleep. In fact I actually tried to keep myself awake! I know Pam would be awake long after I had drifted off and she always seemed to be awake if I woke up.

This was really beneficial, and if you can take advantage of something similar you absolutely must!

It was two hours a week for six weeks.

The first hour provided loads of information and education on health, nutrition. and stress management techniques. It also gave me an opportunity to hear how other people were coping after their heart attacks. Now I must admit I am a very private person and not into that sort of thing, but I certainly learned a lot from the other people on the programme.

The second hour was devoted to exercise in a custom designed Gym. This part of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme was great for me for three reasons.

1) I learnt the sort of exercise that I should be doing, and how much I should be doing.

2) It allowed me to push myself a little, knowing that I was actually in a hospital building, being supervised by specialist cardiac nurses.

3) It helped to build my confidence week by week to be able to get back to normal as quickly as possible

So eight weeks after the heart attack everything was going great.

Then one day I felt awful and had bad chest pain.

The hospital is only about 20 minutes away so Pam drove me there. How stupid of us!

If you ever think you might be having a heart attack, ring the emergency services immediately. It will save valuable time (and avoid you getting shouted at by the doctor!)

Luckily I hadn’t had another heart attack but they kept me in hospital for observation and investigation.

As part of this investigation I had an angiogram (basically a type of x ray that shows if your arteries are blocked).

Well not being one to do things by half, the angiogram showed that I had 5 blocked arteries!

So just when we thought I was over the heart attack and life was back to normal the tables were turned again.

My cardiologist decided that I would need a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)!

It’s Your Heart. It’s Your Life.

It’s Your Choice.

Go To My Story Part 1 Heart Attack Stories from Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme
Go To Heart Attack Early Warning Signs