As I approach the 4 week mark (next Monday) I am beginning to wonder about a rehab exercise program. All the literature I have read suggests that a heart surgery patient should enroll in some sort of formal cardiac rehabilitation. However since the nearest programs that I am aware of are either in Langley or Chilliwack I am not sure that either will be a viable solution for me. This morning I spent some time searching the internet to see if there might be some sort of online video cardiac rehab program where one could follow along. So far I have not located anything more than some YouTube clips with short vignettes of people doing a few miscellaneous exercises.
In the mean time I am still doing the exercise routine that the hospital physiotherapist started all of us on. The routine of exercises/stretches are fairly simple but at this point they are all I can do beside my stair climbing and my walking. Today the sun was shining and the air was cool (but not too cold) so I was able to walk the entire length of our street and back. I actually had to be careful on the shady side of the street as there was a considerable amount of frost on the sidewalk. My exercise today consisted of:
- Outdoor Walk – 1x (1/2 kilometer or more) I walked at a normal pace.
- Stairs – 16x (=224 individual steps up and 224 individual steps down) – these were spread out throughout the day – usually in sets of three trips up and down.
- Spirometer – 9x (I have managed to get up to 3500 ml occasionally)
- Physio stretch/exercise routine – 1x (3-5 seconds on each rep)
It is really amazing how much of my time is spent on doing these things. I guess that’s good as it keeps me focused on a goal and eliminates some of the temptation to boredom!