Weight lifting with Stents in your heart arteries?

[Mannyg222]

I am 46, soon to be 47 in Jan 2011. I have just suffered a very minor heart attack. A couple of the drs. have been very hesitent to call it a heart attack, but I do feel it was one. I have been working out with weights for the last 2.5 years, and was getting strong results. I am very eager to get back to my weight lifting regiment, but my dr. suggest I start out with a focus on light cardio? My heart attack happened two weeks ago 11/03/2010. My question is when can I get back to my weigth lifting regiment, does anyone have experience with this??? I don't know if I am on beta blockers, I do know that I am on blood pressure medication due to my blood pressure being so high when I first went into the hospital....any positive feed back out there would be greatly appreciated. I am on baby aspirin, simvastatin 40mg, diovan 80mg, carvedilol 6.25 mg and plavix 75 mg...any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[treeslayer11]

Hey Treeslayer11 back. Posted in Oct 2014 and in 2015. So I got a personal trainer back in sept 2015 and have been going to the gym again 4 times a week and eating more to bulk back up. Was doing bodybuilding for a couole mos then powerlifting to get bigger. Im currently at 185 - 190 lbs. Still on all my meds but have an appt with cardiologist again in a week. Did my 1 year stress test a little late and ran 17 min no prob and told the nurse and doc about my workout routine they were not impressed at all. I am benching 245 squat 350 and deadlift 445 one rep max but have backed off of powerlifting now and more on to bodybuilding. I feel great and try to not worry about my heart I have had no issues since leaving the hospital. I had a 90% blockage LAD with DEL stent placement and tissue damage that has not recovered. about 43% ejectikn fraction i think. I dont smoke as much weed now but do smoke Oil on the regular. I am single still and dating, girls are coming easily and I never mention the heart attack hopefully it doesnt happen again. I dont think it really made me any weaker but I wonder if these meds are making me more forgetful. I think im allergic to them I get hives if I scratch or pick at my skin and the bruising ***** but its not really too bad. Good luck fellow heart attackers stay strong.

[mcbainburger]

Hey Treeslayer. I'm 39 and had a heart attack 3 weeks ago. Weightlifting is my happy place and I'm super bummed that I won't be able to get back to it for a few months. After a few years, how's everything been? Are you back to bulking? I'm hoping for a ray of hope as this is a big shock to me.

[Rav1000]

HI All

i'm 42 and I too had a HA in sept last year.  Had 2 Des stents in my RCA.  Cardiologist sad i possibly caused it through cycling with a 70% plaque which ruptured due to the extreme intensities from cycling, dehydration etc.  Had a stress test 1 month later where i achieved 15.5 mins before i got nervous and stopped.  Was on a 2.5mg of bisoporol then but now am off them as cardiologist says no real need as no damage and excellent LVF.  Always played sports(football, martial arts, tennis, running, cycling, weight lifting) and always very competitive which they say helped me live due to the collaterals but i also question did it also do the damage in inflammation as i tried to train almost eveyday ?  Now i am still nervous to perform any strenuous activity but was thinking about just doing weights?  Lost over 10kg in a couple of months due to change of diet to Dr esselstyn's.  All of it is driving me and mrs nuts as so many conflicting things out there.  On ramipril atm and about to start 10mg of simvastatin both low does just for protection.   So thats my story just interested in the earlier 2011 posters on how they are doing ?  Any problems or achievements ?

all the best

[Samsanti]

I am 38 year old smd been stent 2 years ago . I am doing  regular exercise and cardio. I had developed hand and back pain which is only while stretching. Even i jad history of cervical neck issue. Is this related to heart or neck.
I dont have any issues in running.breathing but just this upper back and hand

[treeslayer11]

I had my heart attack Aug. 25 2014. it's beeen over 5 months now and my heart seems to be good. lately I've been binge drinking probably at least one excessive night per week but eating clean. just going through a painful breakup with girlfriend and heart pain a bit but u don't think it's the heart attack kind. I went to Mexico for a week with the woman exactly 3 months after my hospital release wad a bit nervous about it but you can get great cardio on the beach. I think I'm going to try working out hard again I am down to 170 lbs from a previous 185 - 190 and a lot of it is muscle mass people can all tell. probably due to the fact that I've been afraid to eat anything too fatty well a bit here and there but I'm on bison and salmon and no butter, skin milk only and Greek yogurts 0 %mf hArd to gain much weight. I wonder if booster juice is that bad for you. My 3 month cholesterol levels were the same as aboriginal tribe people in south America doc says. 80 mg of lipitor will do that I guess well diet and exceraise help too. Have thought I was having chest pains before after tiny hoots of hash oil I wonder if that can do much bad if it's only a bit. Not one cigarette at all while drinking or cigars but joints yes. I think I have to just live a normal life like before and I don't want to be scared of losing my prime years. I still need to find a woman since mine is moving out throughout this week. doc said my lad was 80% blocked with thrombus from pre existing plaque but all other arteries are clean. I knew it was a bad idea to eat all those double quarter pounders and super size fries in high school while I worked at a shell and mc dS was in the same parking lot.

[Bishop3304]

Wow. I am literally in the exact same situation. Just turned 35. Had a major heart attack almost 2 months ago now. Complete blockage of the LAD.  All other arteries 100% clear. Placed a drug induced stint and spent 2 days in icu and one day in general population. My ejection fraction was 30%. Rushed back to the hospital two weeks later with a scare but turned out to be just fluid build up around the heart. My percent increased in just two weeks to 43%. Been in rehab for over a month now. Running for 16 mins straight now.

Feel the exact same way you do about the heart being broke from birth due to all my labs and tests coming back great. I was a former college bball player and stayed active since graduation. The doctors tell me they expect for an all but full recovery and that I will be able to do everything I did in my past.

Good luck.

***@****  

[ed34]

When did you have the attack?

[treeslayer11]

Hi I'm 33 years old and in great shape went 16 min on the stress test following my hospital release. I had a mod to major heart attack blood clot amd there was tissue damage and I'm on plavix asprin lipitor ramapril and some other thing. i was given a drug eluding stent also. The heart attack was almost 2 months ago and I run twice a week at the total cardiology place and run laps around the old guys. I have returned to some resistance training and have been working at the tree company I own and watching my heart rate to keep it in the cardio target zone of 120 to 140 which they determined after the stress test so I can get adequate amounts of cardio. they tell me I have to keep my heart rate below 120 while resistance training and that gives me about 3 or 4 pull ups before I have to stop and wait for it to go down a bit. In an hour I can do 50 pull ups 50 dips 100 push ups and a shoulder complex and abs. I want to be able to power lift again with my friends it is heart breaking thinking that I have already peaked and will never exceed 465 lbs deadlifting (my old max) or get to 300 lb bench I could do 245 last year I train in the winters and work in the summer. my cholesterol is low from my blood test when I was in hospital I think I had the heart attack because I was super stressed about work and employees and also the day it happened I was so dehydrated and using a hand held stump grinder no kidding for 7 hours in the heat and also had smoked a big pipe full of weed. i want to be off lipitor because i hear of the awful side effects and plus my cholesterol levels are low anyway Ko other arteries have any plaque I'm not even sure if this one had much plaque or if it just broke and gave me the clot docs never made it very clear what do you the hunk my chances are of getting back to max lifting and being ok what about lipitor any comments thanks

[ac9]

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/resuscitating-medicare/  try removing animal product from your diet, people have been reversing heart disease for 50 years, medicare even acknowledges it now!  in the ink is about a woman named Frances Greger, went from a wheelchair to walking 10 miles a day.

[lostdogg]

OK,I had a heart atttack back on Xmas day "2006" and I had some questions concerning my 2-stints that I had put in,1-was done 12/25/2006 in the main artery in the front of the heart,and the second one was done 01/15/2007 in the main artery in the back of the heart.
The Dr.told me the same thing that other Drs.told alot of other people out there that had stints put in,there was no heart damage done and he put me on alot of meds,like Plavix,Toprol,Crestor,and a low dosage 80mg.some type of asprin,anyways he told me that my weight lifting days were over @ that time I was 45 and now I am 49,he told me not to lift anymore than 50lbs. yeah rite !! I quit taking all those meds and started eating better and cleaner food and drinking lots of water,
my blood pressure is 124 over 74 and I go to the gym everyday,I squat 225lbs. and I bench about 205lbs.rite now,I do know that I am going againest Drs.orders but I am sorry,I am 5'9" tall and weigh 190lbs.w/32" waist and I have always lifted weights and I'm not gonna stop now.
I do have to admit though,I have backed off a little bit,I use to bench 315lbs.and Squated 435lbs.and weighted 225lbs.Good luck to anyone out there with stints put in,I just wanted to share my story with everyone out there that is concerned like I am,that's why I'm not squating and benching like I use to.Steve..Dallas,Texas

[kenkeith]

QUOTE: "If you had just one or two blockages which have been successfully treated with stents, and you have no tissue damage, then your prognosis is good. You could ask to come off beta blockers after a few months then return to your normal weight lifting",

....I don't follow the logic.  It seems the comments are not quite accurate relative to beta blockers and "successful" stents. Stents do not cure the underlying cause (high blood pressure, etc.) associated vessel occlusions. The OP was/is being treated for prior HA, high blood pressure, and the appropriate medication is an ACE inhibitor and beta blocker (coreg) for high blood pressure and prior heart attack, and it is fitting to conclude that high blood pressure is to at least to some degree the underlying cause.  Also, taking a beta blocker does not preclude working out with heavy weighs or any other activity and no need to be off a beta blocker. I've been on the meds for heart failure (silent heart attack). going on 7 years, and I wouldn't think of going off nor would the doctor take me off a beta blocker especially coreg...it would be malpractice.  

If and when the medication manages the high blood pressure, it would be safe to return to heavy weight lifting in the mean time lighter weights would not be a problem with doctor's permission (could be concomitant health issues not expressed!?).  The reason heavy weights could be a problem as been said in my prior post.    

[ed34]

The title of your post mentions stents, but you don't say what the general condition of your arteries are. Have they shown you the angiogram and explained how much plaque is present in your coronary arteries? You are on the usual medication for heart issues, including beta blockers and there is no other information to go on. The Doctors could be right, it may not have been a heart attack, but strong ischemic symptoms through angina. A full blown heart attack would have caused tissue damage unless you your stents within 30-40 mins.
Have you had a treadmill stress test? have you had an echo scan?
It is usual to go through cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack where you are put through exercise regimes which are appropriate for assisting recovery with the heart. You are also closely monitored and you are made aware of any improvements to the ability of your heart.
If you had just one or two blockages which have been successfully treated with stents, and you have no tissue damage, then your prognosis is good. You could ask to come off beta blockers after a few months then return to your normal weight lifting, IF the Doctor agrees to it from your condition at the time. One thing I would suggest is lots of walking so you don't lose much of your fitness.
One thing you need to examine is your life style and try to eliminate anything which could be causing your disease. Cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diet, exercise, and even stress in your life can contribute. I take it you are a non smoker or heavy drinker.

[kenkeith]

I had a heart attack (sient) about 7 years ago, and was in ICU for several days with congested heart failure.  For medical treatment, I was given an ACE inhibitor for blood pressure control, beta blocker (coreg), baby aspirin, eic. My hospital discharge information didn't limit my activity. I went back to risistance training without any problems.

You have diovan for blood pressure control and carvedilol (generic for coreg) and the beta blocker will reduce your heart rate, help with blood pressure, and it will be difficult to get your heart rate higher than usual with activity when on coreg,

Lifting heavy weights can spike your blood pressure...the doctor may believe that could cause a problem. There is a vascular tissue that effect the lining of vessels, and high blood pressure or a spike in BP can cause serious damage to those vessels that are vulnerable.

The lighter weights helps the cardiovascular system, and heavier weights helps the skeletal muscles with limited help to the cardo system.

The information provides an insight, but to go into a resistive workout may depend on individual characteristics, etc. Hope this helps and if you have any followup questions you are free to respond.  Thqnks for the question, take care.