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Return to Jogging

  • 1.  Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-11-2020 02:29
    I'm 8 weeks post Aortic Valve and AAA replacement repair (44yo fit male)

    Rehab going really well stepping up the walking 45 mins to an hour at pace .. or 15 mins solid stationary bike 

    Anyway tried a few short little 20 metre jogs at slow pace .. felt ok but def got the HR up .. high 130s .. about as high as I've pushed it so far 

    Anyone got any opinion on timing re returning to jog / run .. 

    Cheers Tim

    ------------------------------
    Tim Purgacz
    IT Analyst
    Australia
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-11-2020 22:35
    Hi Tim

    Congrats on the successful surgery! I am 6.5 months post Aortic valve repair and aortic root replacement(David procedure). I'm 38 and exercise is a big part of my life so the slow recovery was tough for me! I started jogging for brief periods on the treadmill, 1-4mins, toward the end of cardiac rehab. I was also doing intervals on the bike and rower for a while before they had me jog. I slowly started lifting weights again with my Dr.'s clearance at 3 months.
    I would trust your rehab team and talk to them about your goals. My team really worked with me so that I was comfortable and confident in my abilities by the time I was done with my 36 sessions. Fit 38-44yr olds aren't the usual rehab patients where I live so I did have to make them aware of my previous fitness experience and where I'd like to be again at some point. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

    ------------------------------
    Cole Morrison
    772-215-1621
    Saint Simons Island, GA
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-19-2020 17:32
    I'm at 7 weeks, post cardiac arrest and CABGx3. I've been slowly upping my pace and heart rate, especially the past 2-3 weeks. Right now I'm doing about 1 hour fast walking a day at about 14.5 minute/mile pace. In the middle I take a couple minute break to give my heart a break letting the HR go down under 90bpm. I started to do a couple 30 second or 1 minute very slow jogs and when my HR got up to 135, I went back to walking. I don't want to push it too much right now. Last night I walked 5.8 miles taking 1:20 moving time. Longer than I usually go for but I was feeling fine so I kept going.
    My doctor was going to refer me to cardiac rehab, but the rehab folks didn't call back. I guess its non-urgent outpatient stuff that they don't have time for or want to risk spreading infections due to this coronovirus right now. I guess I'm on my own. But it makes me nervous whenever my apple watch loses the HR tracking during exercise which it does often when the HR goes up. Not sure if its an uneven HR or some normal issue with the apple watch.
    Overall I'm happy with my progress. Just go slow and steady. We all have our own situations. Many of us here are lucky to have second chances. I was lucky someone close by knew CPR and there was a AED on site.

    ------------------------------
    Ivan Gum
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  • 4.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-19-2020 20:29
    Cheers Ivan - good to hear others experiences - we are lucky to live in the time of HR trackers - the rehab would be very hard without my Fitbit!!
    Stay safe out there especially atm being early post op
    Tim

    ------------------------------
    Tim Purgacz
    IT Analyst
    Australia
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-20-2020 07:56
    Hi Ivan and Tim,

    Ivan, how old are you? Without knowing your age, my advice to you is to ease off and take things slower.  I'm pushing 70 and had my heart attack and CABGx5 at 67, immediately followed by pneumonia complications that nearly killed me, but I didn't try running again until around 4 1/2 months post-release from the rehab hospital (around 5 1/2 months post-surgery).  At that point, the running went fine, although I was so slow that I it was not much faster than a walk.  Eventually, my running days were ended by recurrent sciatica.  By the way, suffering from sciatica was the second worst feeling I'd ever felt, the worst being measles as a kid-heart attack and OHS recovery was easy in comparison, but I digress.

    The point is that I was no stranger to running or racing.  I began running at the beginning of the running movement during the 1970's, just after Jim Fixx wrote his iconic book about running.  At the time, I was a mid-twenties former wrestler and gymnast and still an active weightlifter.  Although I was more heavily muscled than the classic long distance runner, I found that I was pretty good.  During my peak years through my mid-40's, My weekly mileage would fluctuate, but I frequently was running between 45-60 miles per week and I was racing middle distance 5-10k races at around 6:20 minutes per mile, and training at around 8 minutes per mile.  Even un my 50's, I could and did string 50-60 mile weeks together, although at a pace around 2 minutes per mile slower than at ny peak.

    The point is that I was no slouch or newbie and I proceeded very slowly post-heart attack.  I even found advice for post-heart attack returning runners, including advice from cardiologists, instructing us to take it real slow and easy running for the first year post heart attack because it is much easier, during that time, to dislodge some more plaque and precipitate another heart attack.

    My advice to you and every athlete like me out there is to take it real slow and easy that first year back, pushing yourself very gradually while listening to your body with laser like focus.  You will get where you want to go eventually, but never forget that heart recovery is a long distance run.  As a great Masters ultrarunner used to say, "I start slow and then ease off."

    Good luck and train wisely,

    Ira

    ------------------------------
    Ira Reid
    Hoboken NJ
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  • 6.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-21-2020 10:57
    Ivan and Tim,

    Like Ira, I was a long time jogger. In fact I was on my way to the Y when I stopped for the stress test that stopped my heart. I was 63. My body's failure to reproduce the lubricant on the sides of my lungs that was rubbed off during the surgery caused a series of breathing problems that were not solved until lung surgery several months later. This time wore down my usually positive attitude.

    Four months of walking post lung surgery, and series of confidence building events, led to my attending my wife's board retreat at Pepperdine University in Malibu. While the board met, the only level ground that I could find was the university track. My dressing like a runner belied that I was breathing deeply just walking up the steps to the track. When the university students gave me dirty looks, I remembered the unspoken rule that slow people should use an outside lane. I was moving so slowly that I felt like I was in the video game Frogger as I moved to those lanes. I trace the moment to watching two co-eds jog by (not an unpleasant view) as the one where I transformed from rehabilitation-to-recovery. I took an unsteady jogging step, to use the term generously, with my left leg, and to steady myself a quick one with my right one. Repeating this a couple of times and I was sort of jogging. Not far, not fast, not gracefully: but jogging. The physical change was not much: the emotional one was huge. I was no longer a rehabbing heart patient: I was an out-of-shape athlete. I immediately made a program where I could jog three miles without stopping by my first birthday of my second life. Applying my investment approach of long term goals are simply a series of short term goals stapled together, enabled me to silence the internal voices saying "You are tired and should take a break" or worse "Is your heart beating too fast?" 

    My advice is to start slowly, monitor your feelings and a "can do" attitude will carry the day. For inspiration watch the movie Chariots of Fire. 

    Hope this is helpful.

    Brent Zepke
    Author "One Heart-Two Lives: Managing Your Rehabilitation Program WELL"  





  • 7.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-21-2020 11:27
    Absolutely, agree with Brent.  Here's another piece of information that many people don't know but which may inspire those (like me) who no longer can run because of some non-heart related reason.

    Around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a group of long distance athletes known as Pedestrians.  These people were ultra long distance walkers who would cover incredible distances in incredible times. We're talking about 24 hour and 100 mile or longer races at speeds that exceeded what most ordinary people could run.  They were the forerunners of modern racewalking and ultrarunning and they frequently performed in indoor tracks before large crowds.  

    So if you're an oddball like me who can still lift weights but can no longer run because of recurrent sciatica, or if you're running days are over because of knee problems or just plain old arthritis, remember the Pedestrians and go out for a nice long distance walk at a comfortable pace that permits you to talk to a companion or to just smell the rises.

    Ira

    ------------------------------
    Ira Reid
    Hoboken NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-20-2020 19:26
    I noticed this on the power saving feature on your Apple Watch may be enabled . I have pasted the instructions to disable below.

    If your Watch completely stops reading heart rate during workouts. Check the following settings on your watch. -On your iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness and check that both Fitness Tracking and Health are On. ... Go to General and make sure that Workout Power Saving Mode is Off.


    Sent from my iPhone





  • 9.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-21-2020 14:44
    Dear Ivan, sorry your recommended rehab didnt call you hack. I always try calling agsin. Hiwever right now most rehabs are closed because of the virus prevention. When it opens, try again because the therapists can give you additional tips and techniques to help you and your heart.

    Marilyn B. Rosenhouse
    Mobile: (214)850-0655




  • 10.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-21-2020 16:32
    Greeting from Kansas, USA Tim!
    I'm 57 year's young and have been athletic my entire life. An avid runner for 13 years. I had open-heart surgery 9.5 months ago to correct a congenital heart defect diagnosed when I was 47. I would urge you to take it slow and to closely follow the advice of your healthcare team. I did 7 weeks of cardiac rehab after surgery, which consisted of mostly walking and light strength training. I then transitioned to unsupervised workouts at our local gym where CPR trained staff and an AED were nearby. Though I feel my recovery has been slow, mostly created by my impatience, I did get the okay to start light jogging again about 4 weeks ago. I'm feeling stronger each week and I'm being very careful in managing my life around the coronavirus. I've also been very careful not to measure my recovery to anyone else's, we are all different on the recovery scale. Again, take it slow and steady. You will get back to 100% soon. I went for a run this morning and I'll take the 70% I'm at now!
    Barry

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    Barry Weis
    Salina KS
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  • 11.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-22-2020 11:06
    I'm 67 and stopped jogging in my early 50s when my knees gave me the tap on the shoulder. In recent years I have been actively walking. Even with my (now we know) unicuspid valve, I could dash up hills on our route – notably the 3/4 mile 30-40% grade – without getting breathless. I was asymptomatic. NOW I know what it must be to be symptomatic because on my daily walks (I'm up to 8 minutes per session, skipping 7 minutes) I can easily get winded if I walk at my normal pace. My rehab, in normal circumstances, wouldn't start for another 2+ weeks, but Scripps has suspended rehab. I was in good shape going into this so I intend to just keep pushing, just (on doctor's orders!) not too hard. I'm trying to work up to at  least 4 10-minute sessions over the next week or two. It just seems so lame - at least until I realize how much each of those walks can take out of me. Everybody raves about the benefits of rehab, so hopefully those who can't do a formal rehab session can figure out a way to make up for it. I'm guessing, in the end, endurance will return, rebab or no rehab, as long as you keep on a program and stay active

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    Herb Greenberg
    San Diego CA
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  • 12.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-22-2020 11:33
    Herb,

    It is a well known fact that cardiovascular fitness returns very quickly compared to muscular fitness.  In fact, the biggest risk to runners returning from injury is that they will regain their cardiovascular fitness so quickly that they will overtax their muscles and bones leading to reinjury, shin splints, a pulled muscle in another area or bone injury, typically stress fractures.  

    You can read about this in a lot of the running and sportsmedicine literature, but here are two personal examples:  First, when I first got home after OHS, I could barely walk the .2 mile distance around my block.  I started adding .1 miles per day and found that, after two weeks, I was covering 2 miles a day without any problem.  Same thing happened when I was in my mid-thirties and was released from the hospital after a bleeding ulcer.  Upon release, I could barely walk around the block.  In two weeks, I was running 2 miles a day.

    I think you'll be pleased with your speedy return to cardiovascular fitness as long as you don't overdo it.  In my experience, running and walking works best when you regard it as a form if play, not as a Type A competitive activity.

    Good luck,

    Ira

    ------------------------------
    Ira Reid
    Hoboken NJ
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  • 13.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 03-22-2020 11:38
    Thanks, Ira. I’m with you!

    Herb




  • 14.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 04-07-2020 02:55
    Hey team (first was cool to hear you speak on Howards Podcast Herb) http://lindzanity.libsyn.com/panic-with-friends-30-with-herb-greenberg-of-pacific-square-research

    Hope the recovery finds you well

    Wanted to update Ive returned to outdoor biking now too in the last week so at 11 weeks (I'm 12 weeks post op today) and it has been awesome to get out and ride given both the boredom of stationary bike and the Covid lockdown - doing 20 mins at moderate pace on some road and some flat offroad trails nearby. Massive for the mental health. Last ride I pushed it a bit harder 126bpm avg and peaked at 156 which was about 10bpms higher than anything else I'd done. Next challenge is rebuilding the upper body - is nice to be able to lift up and cuddle my 18 month old daughter too

    Hope everyone else is having some small wins
    Cheers
    Tim


    ------------------------------
    Tim Purgacz
    IT Analyst
    Australia
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 04-08-2020 08:39
    Hi Tim. Glad you liked that! Small world. I'm 5 weeks out today and I'm walking around a 17-minute mile for 16mins 3/day.  That's double the time per walk of a week or two ago and faster. The pace is a minute or two per mile slower than pre-surgery.  I include a small hill, which I use to see any improvement in endurance since it's where the most stress is. My goal is 45 mins 1x a day, which I hope to shoot for next week or the week after, but at a slower pace. It's fun to watch the improvement. I think key to recovery is movement.

    ------------------------------
    Herb Greenberg
    San Diego CA
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  • 16.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 06-02-2020 12:15
    Herb,
    Its been about three months since your visit to the Cleveland Clinic and your recovery is proceeding very well.  I congratulate you on your goal to complete 45 minutes of walking each day during your recovery.   Southern California has the warm, dry climate that we don't often have in New Jersey except for two weeks June and two in September.  As a comparison, here is the exercise routine that I've followed since my aortic aneurysm procedure in May 2017.
    Stationary bike or Arch Trainer at the Summit Y from 6:30 am to 7:20 am 7 days a week. In March the pandemic closed the gym, so here's my new routine:
    On warm, sunny days, I bike 50 to 60 minutes on the bike path from our town to maplewood village  about 7.5 mile round trip with "moderate" hills.
    On overcast days, I speed walk at Giralda Farms on a 3 mile bike/walking path for 50 to 60 minutes.
    On rainy days, I speed walk at the five level parking deck at our local Mall for 60 to 75 minutes.
    It's a routine that you can fit into your work day, whether early morning or in the afternoon.
    All the best on your continued progress.
    Vic Fabry

    ------------------------------
    Victor Fabry, CEO
    Greylock Advisors, LLC
    Short Hills, New Jersey
    fvfabry@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 06-02-2020 12:27
    Hi Vic,

    Great hearing from you. By the weeks I was three months last week; by the calendar, tomorrow. I walk about an hour a day, 3.6-3.7 miles at a pace of around 16-16.3/mins a mile. That includes some good hills! I feel fantastic. Cardiac rehab opened yesterday at Scripps in San Diego, so I started that as well. On one had I don't need it; on the other, why not? They've got machines I don't normally use and monitoring. So currently adding that in 3x a week. The surgery itself is a distant memory. I have my first post-op echo later this week. Still fiddling w/some BP meds. Otherwise, getting on with life and now taking bets on how long this tissue valve lasts! (Gotta have a sense of humor.) Hope all is well with you.

    Best,
    Herb

    ------------------------------
    Herb Greenberg
    San Diego CA
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 06-02-2020 13:10
    Herb,
    So glad you are doing well!! Sounds like you are getting back to it. I started cardiac rehab a little later than most but it was a great confidence builder for me. It helped me see what I was capable of. I'm sure your echo will look great:)

    ------------------------------
    Cole Morrison
    772-215-1621
    Saint Simons Island, GA
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 06-02-2020 13:23
    Thanks, Cole. Talking with you pre-surgery was extremely helpful. I would love to be able to help others easy the fear, as well.

    Best,
    Herb




  • 20.  RE: Return to Jogging

    Posted 04-08-2020 09:23

                  Good news, Tim. Don't know how it is there; but around here you couldn't've picked a better time to resume. The streets/roads and as car free as they can get. Terrific biking conditions.

    Bob Levin

    Berkeley

     

    Sent from Mail for Windows 10