The two or three months after a heart attack should be about recovery, which means not only the adjustment of medication, but also the establishment of a new lifestyle, the main goal of which is to prevent a possible second event and achieve a good quality of life. But what should you prepare for, how should you structure your cardiac rehabilitation? Dr. Péter Ferenczy, cardiologist, sexual cardiologist, internist at the Cardio Center answered the question.
What does the length of rehabilitation after a heart attack depend on?
The recovery period after a heart attack can range from two weeks to three months, and you can only return to work and everyday life after full rehabilitation.
What can this rehabilitation period depend on?
– From the severity of the heart attack that took place.
– Because of how quickly the treatment could begin.
– From the type of treatment (it does not matter, for example, whether open heart surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention was performed).
– The general state of health and the presence of co-morbidities are also influencing factors.
– After a heart attack, it is quite natural that patients experience certain changes in their activity level, physical performance, emotions, nutrition and sexual activity – sums up Dr. Ferenczy.
– The most important thing is to find a balance between rest and activity, and not to live under the delusion that the “patient population” must be constant from now on. Creating a lifestyle based on exercise and well-structured nutrition is at least as important a part of cardiology rehabilitation as controlled medication intake.
How is cardiac rehabilitation structured?
After the days spent in the hospital, it is necessary to ensure that the long-term cardiology rehabilitation will be able to restore and even increase the previous quality of life and this can protect against a possible second heart attack. Its elements are:
Since the heart is also a muscle, after a heart attack this muscle must be rested like any other muscle after an injury. Even after returning home from the hospital, it is important for the patient to be independent and mobile as much as possible, for example to dress alone, do household tasks, but at the same time proceed with caution when climbing stairs, do not lift heavy weights and rest when you feel the need. In the long term, with the help of the exercise therapist (on the basis of the cardiologist’s guidelines), an exercise program must be built up, the aim of which is to achieve the best possible physical condition, develop endurance and muscle strength – under safe conditions, under supervision for the necessary time!
Although the Mediterranean diet or the DASH diet are generally characterized as heart protective, if you want to build the most effective, personalized diet, it is definitely worth using the help of a dietician. Efficiency does not only mean that the specialist knows the rules of the diet recommended after a heart attack (for example, less salt and saturated fatty acids), but also that he provides help for other goals as well. During such a period, the goal of many people may be to lose weight, strengthen the immune system, and the diet of many may be affected by, for example, food intolerance or food allergy. It’s a huge help if you get a diet that not only helps, but also gives you pleasure.
- Arrangement of emotional life
A heart attack can change everyone’s life, often emotionally as well. In order to even be able to grow after such a trauma, psychologists, patient groups, and even the attending physician can provide great help. A cardiologist can also help you with issues related to sexual activity, especially if a problem may arise as a side effect of one of the medications, especially erectile dysfunction. In such cases, you should feel free to ask, help is available.
Regular cardiology control
-In order for someone to be able to participate effectively and at the same time safely in the long-term rehabilitation program, they must participate in cardiology care and a careful health assessment, the basis of which is, of course, regular cardiology follow-up. On the other hand, in order for the appropriate exercise and eating plan to be born, in some cases it may be necessary to have other specialist opinions and test results (for example, orthopedic and endocrinological), as well as special tests in order to reduce the risk as much as possible – emphasizes Dr. Péter Ferenczy, cardiologist, sexual cardiologist, internist at the Cardio Center.
– After a heart attack, you have to accept that you now need continuous cardiology care and medication. However, since the condition can change – often positively as a result of cardiological rehabilitation – regular control is necessary. In such cases, it is also possible to update the applied therapy.
Source: Cardio Center (www.kardiokozpont.hu)
Source: www.patikamagazin.hu
