Cycling after an angioplasty (stent)

[derrick]

Hi all,

34 years old and just found out I’ve probably got to have an angioplasty in the next week or so

I had a cold last December and started getting chest pains. I went to to the docs in January who said it was asthma due to the cold weather. I’d only get pains when my heart rate was elevated and if I laid off for a few minutes and then carried on I’d be fine..

So cycling at the track was ok as long as I warmed up properly .. but it wasn’t right. When the weather got warmer and the symptoms didn’t improve I went back to the docs who said this time is was excercise enduced asthma and gave me a preventative inhaler..

This made no difference so I went back again and was eventually referred to a respiratory specialist who ruled out asthma straight away...

Anyway, he referred me to a cardiologist who did an CT angiogram yesterday and seems I have a blockage or narrowing on my left artery

I’m due to see an intervention cardiologist on Monday but I’ve been told I’ll probably end up having and angioplasty.

I’ve worked hard over the past 5 years to loose weight and get fit. Up until yesterday (when the doc told me to stop excercising immediately) I’d do a minimum of 40 miles per week mainly in high intensity track sessions at he club. In the summer this would also include some 50/60 mike club runs.. I’m used to getting my HR rate up into the 190s on big climbs and really pushing myself....

How likely am I to be able to return to this fitness post angioplasty?


Obviously I’m going to follow the directions of the doctor and do whatever he says but I just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences ?

I don’t smoke, barely drink (4 pints a month if that) so it’s almost certainly my diet that needs attention going forward


Sorry for the long post

I was back doing 50 mile rides the following week, as long as you have no problems you should be the same, My doctor told me to listen to my body, good luck.
Also talk to the doctor and make sure you have to be on all them pill,sthey put me on them all as a mater of course, but i only take Statins and asprin now.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Review and blood test after the holiday, its been 13 months since my heart attack. I'm close to where I was before, resting heart rate down around 50bpm, comfortably doing 50-60 mile rides two or three times a week, my average speed is down, around 13.5 mph, but thats been dropping for years so I'm happy with that. My longest ride this year was 71 miles, next year I'm going to try and get more of the longer rides in.

 

[ColinJ]

He said he see’s about 1 case a year like mine involving someone of my age who has no reason to develop CAD (no family history, never smoked, rarely drink and a cholesterol level of 3.5 before taking drugs)

Buy a copy of Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox and see if that sheds more light on it? (Currently only £1.24 in the Kindle store.)

Good luck with your recovery.

 

[Alan O]

To update this thread. I had the angiogram and a single stent fitted due to a 100% blockage to my LAD.
By all accounts, I'm lucky to be alive and am only alive due to my heart creating its own natural bypass around the blocked artery.

I had a heart attack just over 10 years ago, at the age of 48, and the blockage turned out to be a lot worse than the initial symptoms suggested - apparently I got off relatively lightly because of well-developed collaterals (which I put down to many years of cycling, hill-walking etc in my past, though I wasn't cycling at the time).

Instead of the stent they first thought I'd need, I ended up with a quadruple bypass, and on to bisoprolol, losartan, atorvastatin, and aspirin. It seems I have naturally high cholesterol - even an experimental cholesterol-free vegan diet made little difference, so my body clearly either produces too much or doesn't get rid of it properly.

Anyway, today I feel at least as fit as I did before the heart attack, and I'm doing a reasonable amount of cycling - I'm comfortable with 30-40 miles rides, and the longest I did in 2017 was 100 miles.

 

[Ti Cloreen]

Just two weeks i got two stents in my LAD.. thankfully they went through my wrist. I start my rehab on Wednesday. First of the year i started working out. The weights were going fine but as soon as l got on that treadmill things got weird. Chest pain and tightness and it got worse by the week.
Im anxious to get back on the bike. But genius me decided to get depressed and gain 20 pounds so i have that to deal with now too, lol😕

 

[jamin100]

Honestly, i'm fitter, weigh less and faster than I have ever been. If it wasnt for the fact that I was taking medication daily, then you wouldn't know there was ever a problem. My HR used to max out about 196 bpm and its now about 180, but thats due to the beta blockers. I have annual blood and medication reviews, and even get call up for flu and Covid jabs earlier than others my age - so it has its advantages.

You'll be fine, I was shocked at first, but dont let it define you.

 

[lcryder]

First and foremost get rid of the sad smiley. You’re going to be fine.

October 2015 aged 61 I had a heart attack 40 miles in to the club ride and then carried on riding. Long story but I didn’t know I’d had a heart attack. I thought I’d bonked.

Went to A&E a few hours later as I didn’t feel quite “right.” That was 6.00pm Sunday, full treatment immediately, angiogram Tuesday 10.00 followed immediately by angioplasty, stents. Home Wednesday 2.00pm.

Again long story but my physio told me when he got very tired of me constantly asking about riding, “you’re very fit, if we can’t get you back to where you were we’ve failed.” Today I am a fitter, lighter, faster and stronger rider than at any point in the last 20 years. I’m riding with and staying with people 25 years younger than me. I knock out 120-160 miles a week.

My heart attack was due to high cholesterol and being an ex smoker. I’d had warning signs for years but didn’t recognise them. I’ve improved, not changed, my lifestyle, lost weight and learned a bit about correct nutrition for cycling. It’s said high cholesterol is 80% genetic and 20% diet.

Do not rush things, follow all the advice. It took me five months to get back on the bike, I tried after three and was exhausted. I found walking a big help.

One thing I was only told after experiencing it is some cardiac patients are susceptible to changes in temperature. For me the first couple of weeks of cold weather are uncomfortable and a bit scary.

Be grateful your problem has been found, will be fixed and you have the opportunity to get fitter.

Promise yourself one thing. If you’re worried at anytime in the future get to a doctor or A&E - they will take you very seriously.

I view my heart attack as having saved my life.

Hi! 65 year old cyclist and just had a CTO PCI procedure performed for a blocked right coronary artery. Prior to the procedure, my cardiologist approved riding up to 45 minutes in duration and HR not greater than 100. Two stents in the RCA and one more week of being down. Cardiologist required x2 weeks of no cycling. Chomping at the bit to get back out there. For rehab, did anyone prescribe a metric to be used? For example, not to exceed a certain HR or wattage, or distance, or time? HR would seem to be the easiest for the cardiologist to understand. I'll see my cardiologist at 1 month after the procedure, just looking for some helpful info until the appt. Appreciate it!

 

[PaulSB]

Hi! 65 year old cyclist and just had a CTO PCI procedure performed for a blocked right coronary artery. Prior to the procedure, my cardiologist approved riding up to 45 minutes in duration and HR not greater than 100. Two stents in the RCA and one more week of being down. Cardiologist required x2 weeks of no cycling. Chomping at the bit to get back out there. For rehab, did anyone prescribe a metric to be used? For example, not to exceed a certain HR or wattage, or distance, or time? HR would seem to be the easiest for the cardiologist to understand. I'll see my cardiologist at 1 month after the procedure, just looking for some helpful info until the appt. Appreciate it!

I feel the experience, not advice, I can offer is in my post which you've quoted. I had a heart attack for the reasons you've had what seems to be planned surgery. I don't know if the two impact the heart and body differently.

My cardiologist offered no advice on when I could start cycling again. The advice from the physio was to listen to my body and that their treatment would return me to my previous fitness levels. The reality is 6/7 years later I am a fitter and better rider than I was.

My overall comment would be to listen to your body and the medical team. Following a brain haemorrhage in January 2019, the will he live type, I was told to limit cycling to 20 minutes on the flat. This was about 4 months after the incident when I proudly told the consultant I was back to 45 mile rides averaging 15mph. I presented him with the same data you're proposing.

Mentally this finished me off. I was in the depths of despair. Eventually I found help from the senior neurological nurse. Long story but today I've been in the form of my life for perhaps 15 months now.

You will get there but please don't rush. Plenty of miles await you and it would be a shame to lose these because you didn't take things carefully.

Two weeks sounds a very, very short time to me. I was three months after the heart attack before I tried. That was exhausting, at five months I was ready for the comeback.