# Cardiac Rehabilitation Classes.



## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

I have Heart Failure and have a pacemaker fitted and with a few tablets daily I keep pottering along.

My Heart Failure Specialist Nurse (it's a bloke before you get too excited) suggested I go to Cardiac Rehabilitation classes to do structured exercise to try and improved the strength of my heart.

I did 16 classes over 8 weeks and now I've moved on to doing exercises in a Gym.

The plan is to start with easier exercises on the gym equipment and gradually build up and add on extra work as I, hopefully, improve.

After my first session today with a recumbent cycle, rowing machine and arm bike machine I feel knackered but also uplifted that it is almost certainly giving me some future benefit.

Has anyone else been on these courses and, if so, did they feel it benefited them ?

Not a selfie -


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Hope not Keith as he doesn't look very fit.

Ray.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Are you overweight Keith? Hans had a pacemaker they never suggested anything like that to him, but he was not overweight and very active.

I also know (or it could be knew now) a lady who had a pacemaker when she was in her 60is, she lived to at least 101 she may or may not have died in the last few months, I haven´t enquired.


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

_Are you overweight Keith_?

I'm not skinny but not a lot overweight - 11.5 stone (73 kilos) and 5' 5" (1.65 m) tall.

Could do with losing around a stone in weight and hopefully this extra exercise will help.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Yes and yes Keith.

Chris went to them after his heart attack. They were run by the British Heart Foundation. He, and the other people there, found them very beneficial. Chris, like you, was not overweight but it is not about getting a fit looking body it is about conditioning the heart and lungs to work more efficiently. He was carefully monitored, during all the exercises, to make sure he was not straining his heart. He had to wear a monitor on his wrist that would beep if he over did any of the exercises.

Most of the people on his course found the classes beneficial. Chris was very gung ho and confident about his heart failure but some people were very, very nervous and frightened to even get out of their chair at home. I am sure it saved their lives because you could see them improve and grow in confidence each week. In Chris's case they were able to make him take things at a steadier pace rather than pushing himself to the limit all the time!


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## greygit (Apr 15, 2007)

KeithChesterfield said:


> I have Heart Failure and have a pacemaker fitted and with a few tablets daily I keep pottering along.
> 
> My Heart Failure Specialist Nurse (it's a bloke before you get too excited) suggested I go to Cardiac Rehabilitation classes to do structured exercise to try and improved the strength of my heart.
> 
> ...


In answer to your question yes definitely, I had had two strokes and stent fitted and was very nervous about how much exercise I could do. After attending the Cardiac Rehabilitation program I decided there wasn't much exercise I couldn't do after the exercise regimen they put you through. Now here in Spain were we now live I spend a lot of time walking the dogs in the mountains locally to keep fit, then tapas and a beer at lunch time ,it's a hard life but someone has to do it.:grin2:


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

It's good to know that others feel a benefit from going to the courses and any doubts I've had about them has diminished.

I don't expect to be running Marathons any time soon but being more able to tackle slopes and hills at a better rate of knots and less stopping would be a bonus from the exercise classes.

Thanks for the replies.


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