Training for heart patients?

[wildhawk]

I am getting back into cycling with my husband after several years of goofing off and eating poorly. I had an artery that was 99.9% blocked last August and underwent angioplasty and stents to open it up. I feel great, but unfortunately my job is a very sedentery one so I have to fit in as much physical activity as I can on weekends and about a half hour of walking on weekdays. I work nights, but we are trying to get up early enough to fit in bike rides to a local park before work a couple of times a week. We ride 20 - 30 miles on weekends. My cardiologist has not placed any restrictions on my exercising but has suggested that I try to get in an hour a day - walking, cycling, etc. I have followed a cardio diet successfully for a year now and have lost 55 pounds. I have another sixty to go to reach my goal weight. My husband and I are trying to train to ride in the MS150 ride next May and we haved signed up for a few smaller rides this fall - two 25 milers and a 50k. Do any of you have any advice on training and/or nutrition for cardio patients?

[KnottedYet]

That's really up to your cardiologist.

If he didn't place you on any restrictions, then your training would be just like anyone else's. Get on your bike and ride. Slow down when you get short of breath. Speed up when you feel like it. Go until you are tired. Get good sleep, eat good food.

There are lots of training and nutrition books. (you should probably stick with the nutrition plan your cardiologist gave you, and run any food plans you come up with from books past him first) One of my favorites is "Slow Fat Triathlete." She starts you from level zero, and goes from there. It's about triathlon, but the bike info is good for any rider. Very friendly book! Several of us here on TE have it. http://villagebooks.booksense.com/NASApp/store/Search;jsessionid=abcxtPVeCnV9s4weqy2Vr?s=results&initiate=yes&ks=q&qsselect=KQ&title=&author=&qstext=slow+fat+triathlete&x=0&y=0

[Crankin]

This is just based on my husband's experience. He was a very fit rider when he had 2 80% blockages fixed with stents. Not overweight, ate great. The cardiologist wanted him to keep his HR under 130 for about 6 weeks, which he sort of did, only because his HR is fairly low to begin with. He started walking 3 days after the procedure and was riding within 5 days; 2-3 flat rides and then slowly back to hills. We did a tour in Europe 5 weeks after the surgery.
If you feel fine and the doctor has not given you any restrictions, then just start building up mileage slowly, as anyone else would. I would suggest getting a HR monitor so you can judge how hard you are actually working.
Doctors always err on the side of caution. Set a goal and a reasonable timetable to achieve it. You don't need to be fast rider to ride a charity ride!

[Jolt]

Everyone else has pretty much said it all in terms of exercise--if your doctor hasn't given any restrictions, just work up gradually and listen to your body. Don't try to compete with anyone but yourself. As far as nutrition, eat lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains and watch your portion sizes, and use primarily "good" fats like olive oil and nuts. Fish is also good, particularly types with lots of omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, sardines etc. Just be sure to choose fish without high levels of mercury. It's great that you're committed to a healthy lifestyle and working on losing the weight you need to lose--that will go a long way toward preventing further problems. Keep up the good work and hopefully you won't have to see "Dr. Angie O'Plasty" again! (Sorry, couldn't resist making a bad pun!)

[wildhawk]

I definately do not want to see Dr. Angioplasty again - LOL. Actually I tried to get some nutritional advice from my cardiologist and he just said lose the weight. I had hope that they would have a plan that I could follow, but they did not recommend any. I had been on Weight Watchers before the stents, so I read everything I could get my hands on regarding healthy heart diets and modified the WW diet. I eat very low fat, with fruits, grains and veggies and only lean fish (salmon - Alaskan wild, and albacore in water) and chicken. I guess the main problem I have regarding training on the bike is worrying about replacing the electrolytes. I know that you can cramp up on longer rides with just water, and Gatorade seems high in sodium and sugar. We are training in the Florida heat. Thank you all for your wonderful advice. We are gradually building up our miles each ride. Yesterday we got caught in a rain shower - felt good!! Just a mess cleaning up the bikes afterwards.

[Grog]

Nothing against cardiologists, but they just aren't trained in nutrition matters.

Perhaps you could see a nutritionist, perhaps one who works with athletes?

I know a lot of people with weight to loose are tempted to cut the carbs on the bike, but you actually need those, at least in some quantity. There have been a few threads on this topic on the board, just don't have the time to dig them out right now but maybe a bit of searching around the nutrition section will help. If you don't nourish yourself properly on the bike on long rides, you will most likely be famished later, and you also risk to bonk.

Good luck! You're certainly on the right path!

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I would talk to your cardiologist about heart ranges. If you are on beta blockers, your heart range isn't the same as everyone elses. You can always have it tested in the lab. Push for cardiac rehab if you can because that is where you learn all about exercise limitations. It was really good for my ex husband. They also go over nutrition with you in that rehab setting so you will get the two for one. Pritikin is usually the diet that everyone tries to follow but everyone usually gives up because it is very low in fat (about 10% of your daily intake) and almost vegetarian. I tried to get him to follow it but it was pretty hard. He did switch from beef to salmon, so all wasn't lost there. There is a happy balance as he found. Everything in moderation...

The heart rate monitor is what helped him immensely. He was a little sketchy at first about exercise, but once he got his limits via an exercise lab, he felt more confident in it. Doesn't hurt to try it.