Cycling After Angioplasty

[ColinJ]

I am seeing a consultant next week to discuss my recovery from illness. In November, he hinted at possible 'interventions' if I didn't recover enough without them. I am still making progress but it is very slow and I'm wondering if I might eventually end up with stents if the damage from my clotting is permanent. I'll have to ask him what the 'interventions' could be. For now, I'd rather give nature another 6 months and see how I get on.

I really don't like the idea of beta blockers. I don't know whether I'll ever be able to get my heart back up to 180 bpm, but I certainly don't want it restricted to 120-140 bpm unless it is absolutely necessary. That would take away a lot of the benefits that I've had from losing weight. (A skinny me climbing at 120 bpm would probably be as slow as the fat me climbing at 180 bpm!)

Still - being alive beats being dead ...

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi guys,

I've just found this thread and it is very interesting. I note that the last update was over 2 years ago so I'm hoping that you will still see my post.

I was given a coronary stent around 3 years ago and have been cycling regularly before and after the procedure.

The one thing that nobody mentions here is whether they were prescribed beta blockers post-stenting. I have been using a relatively low dose Bisoprolol since the stent until around 2 months ago and have seen an immediate improvement in my performance.

Do you guys use beta blockers and if so, what effect has that had on your cycling performance? The thing that has always worried me is whether there are inherently more risks going 100% MHR.

Dan

Hi Dan
I'm mostly brain dead but still here!
I've taken Atenolol since my stenting and apart from feeling slightly tired most of the time, it's OK. I don't know about going 100% MHR because I dare not do it! I 'listen' to my heart when riding and take it easy on big climbs and I no longer contest sprints!
I'm certainly no slower than I was before stenting and possibly faster. I don't worry about it too much, I ride OK with many of my peers and enjoy every spin. It's good to be alive isn't it?

 

[Arsen Gere]

All credit you guys who get back in to the sport. I'm impressed.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Still here and still pedalling, I was on beta blockers just after the stenting in 2008, a short while after the op I was taken off them, I've forgotten why now, but the Doctors are talking about putting me back on them, it seems that I shouldn't have been taken off them in the first place, I'll have to wait till my check up in a few weeks to find out whats going on, I'm in excellent shape and don't understand why I should go back on them.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

It's good to be alive isn't it?

+ one on that, I'm in better shape than before the OP and enjoying experiencing things I might have missed.

 

[Dan Grindey]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.
It's great to finally find fellow cyclists that are recovering fron stenting and enjoying their cycling. Personally whilst I'm glad to be alive, I still want to be as strong on the bike as I can and am prepared to tinker with my medication to make it so.

I've been on Bisoprolol since the stenting and they have restricted my heart rate to 160bpm. This is fine until I start to climb when as soon as my heart rate hits 160 I tend to blow. I've also struggled with my endurance which I have assumed has been caused by the beta blockers.

Thanks again.

 

[TheDoctor]

My dad had angioplasty and stents about 14 years ago. I regularly ride with him.
It might seem like a long road back sometimes, but it's worth the trip.

 

[derrick]

This seems like years ago, am brand new now,

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/heart-attack-part-two.105968/

 

[Dan Grindey]

Glad to hear it Derrick.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Well done Derrick

 

[derrick]

A quick update, the doc took me of the Bisoprolol because it made me tired, he said i don't really need it as i was doing so well with the recovery, but i must stress mine was mild and it did get treated very quickly, below is a ride from a couple of weeks ago heart rate max 172, you have to listen to what your body is telling you, don't overdo it.
(61 years young)


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/279253139

 

[ColinJ]

That's good news derrick. I remember reading your 'heart attack part 2' thread back in July last year and thinking that nothing like that could ever happen to me, but I collapsed 2 weeks later and haven't cycled since! It just goes to show that good health should never be taken for granted ...

 

[youngoldbloke]

2 more stents almost exactly 6 months ago. Angioplasty 1993, 3 stents 2005. Almost back to normal again, but this time I think Statins are causing problems - muscle ache and cramps. I had not been prescribed them as I had problems in the past, and over the years have been prescribed almost every cholesterol lowering substance known to medicine, eventually settling with Ezetimibe. After my recent surgery my cardiologist encouraged me to try and stick with low dose Rosuvastatin - very effective - my cholesterol is now 3.6, with excellent ratios etc, but sadly my leg muscles are not behaving as well as before the recent stents. The only other medication I take is Ramipril, Clopidogrel (for another 6 months) and Aspirin. No beta blockers as I have naturaly low blood pressure, and resting heart rate. It has taken me longer to feel fully fit again than I expected - I think I did too much too soon after the event - not cycling, but in general. Not entirely my fault as I received what in retrospect was conflicting advice about how much I should do or not do, and when. As others have said, listen to your body, and talk to your doctor. There are lots of different drugs available, all with slightly different effects, and some may be better tolerated by you than others. My GP is now going to try changing the Statin prescribed, and probably referring me to a Lipid Clinic at the local Hospital.

 

[Fab Foodie]

+ one on that, I'm in better shape than before the OP and enjoying experiencing things I might have missed.

Me too

 

[slowmotion]

I was a surprised guest of the NHS back in August. I went in as an out-patient for a routine test on a Friday afternoon, and emerged, blinking into the daylight, with a double coronary by-pass ten days later. Hammersmith Hospital and all their people were utterly wonderful, BTW.
They don't want you to do much cycling after cardiac surgery, at least for two months.. They get into your chest by cutting down the middle of your sternum (breastbone) and pulling your ribs apart with clamps to gain access to the heart. When they have finished, they staple the two sides of your ribs back together. It hurts, big-time if you cough in the days after the op, so what they do is give you a rolled up towel to press against the middle of your chest, to restrict movement and pain. It is a surreal sight.....grown men in dressing gowns wandering about with catheters and drips coming out of all corners of their bodies, all clutching towels to their chests, like Sebastian Flyte and his teddy in Brideshead Revisited.

I was told to take Clopidogrel, Atorvastatin and Bisoprolol Fumarate, and have had absolutely no side-effects at all. In the middle of October, I went to see the cardiologist for one last appointment, and asked if I could ride again, and how easily I should take it if I did. " Ride as hard and as far as you like, but don't enter the Tour de France" .

I think she could be wrong. I take enough drugs, FFS.