Care After a Heart Attack

It is best to get back to a routine as quickly as you ca once you have suffered an attack. Physical activity is good for the body, and might even help in strengthening the heart. You should make sure that you have started any exercise only after consulting your doctor. Do not go by the experiences of your friends, or simply by what you read. Every patient is different and suffers to a different degree. You will also have a different body mechanism and you will react to ailments differently. Your plans must first get the approval of your doctor even before you have started. It is best to start very slow, and then slowly build up on any activity.

The doctor will allow you activity depending your performance on various paramteres including symptoms, heart rate, pulse, heart size, other compunding ailments like blood pressure or diabetes, and most importantly, your attitude as well.

All of these factors will be an indication of the amount of time and rest that will be required to recover fully, and also in the amount of exercise your body will be able to take. The most important things to keep in mind when you resume activity are to build up activity gradually, and to work in moderation. This will help you balance activity without affecting the body again. You should be able to pick up on the activity slowly if you have a decent heart size, blood pressure in control and have a good heart sound after three weeks of your attack.

You will be confined to your bed for one week after the attack. If there are no complications, you should be able to sit in a chair and get around the house very slowly and also go to the bathroom by yourself after this. In the third week, you should be able to get around more easily.

During the first two weeks you should make sure that you should only get around a few more steps or for only a few more minutes each time. Spend more time about each day, until you are out of bed for about ten minutes in the hour.

You should get about ten hours of sleep at night, and abut two hours after lunch. Ohter than the time you are sleeping, avoid lying in bed for too long. You should not climb stairs during the first few weeks, but after that you can try taking just a few at a time.