Seven at-home strategies for heart attack recovery

After a heart attack doctors usually refer patients to cardiac rehabilitation to help transition from surgery to resuming normal activities. These services are medically supervised programs designed to improve long-term health. Our experts at Memorial Satilla Health have a few ways to get patients on the road to recovery from the comfort of their own home.

"The purpose of cardiac rehab is to teach you a healthy cardiovascular lifestyle that you can take home with you," says Eduardo Venegas, M.D., an interventional cardiologist at Memorial Satilla "In Flu and Covid season / winter months, patients really have to be disciplined at home to ensure they get the most benefit out of their program."

So, how can you make what you learn in cardiac rehab stick when you're away from the clinic or hospital? Dr. Venegas offers some tips.

• Get physical
• Approach sex carefully
• Eat right and watch your weight
• Stop smoking
• Control your conditions – and take your meds
• Take care of your mental health
• Keep your appointments

The most important of these is getting moving whether it’s walking a virtual 5K or just getting in those 10,000 steps a day. “Physical activity is a key to cardiac rehab,” says Dr. Venegas. “Find a buddy to motivate you, Zoom or FaceTime your workouts together or perhaps grab a mask and walk your dog outside. Biking and swimming are also good activities to start with and build up over time.”

Next in line for rehab is your diet. Cutting saturated fat, lowering sodium and getting plenty of fresh produce, whole grains and legumes can help reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol, and may help you lose weight. “Your rehab team may make dropping pounds a priority during your program. At home, you can aid the process by making a few small changes; drinking water instead of sugary drinks, planning ahead for healthy meals and snacks and asking for help from family and friends.”

Other tips are of course to stop smoking and remember it's essential to take prescribed meds exactly as directed. “Whether you've been prescribed an ACE inhibitor to treat high blood pressure, a statin to keep your cholesterol in check or aspirin to prevent future heart attacks, this is the time to follow doctor’s orders,” adds Dr. Venegas.

Many patients wonder after a heart attack when it’s safe to resume sex. "If you can walk four minutes on a treadmill at a couple of miles an hour – that's the same amount of exertion for sex," says Dr. Venegas. "If you can do that in a supervised setting without symptoms of electrical instability, or things that are concerning to your cardiac rehab physician, then you should be safe to resume sex."

The most overlooked component of recovery is mental health. Stress, anxiety and depression often go hand in hand with heart disease. Venegas says, "Stress is essentially a cardiovascular risk factor in a lot of ways, and controlling that is another avenue to decrease your risk of heart disease." A cardiac rehab plan can include speaking with a counselor or joining a virtual support group to learn stress reduction techniques, along with ways to recognize and address anxiety and depression.

Your team can remotely monitor your status, answer questions and adjust treatments; you can express concerns, ask questions and speak up when something needs clarity. "Having to keep up at home may be more of a challenge,” says Venegas. "But it's important for your overall health going forward."

For information on our Cardiac Rehab Program call (912) 284-2410.