Looking for cardiac athletes. I belong to a couple online groups of athletes who all have had some sort of heart surgery. Bypass, stent, pacemaker, valve replacement, or aneurysm. They are mostly runners, but many cycle, ski, climb mountains, play team sports, etc. We wrote a book about our experiences. I'm wondering if anyone knows of any swimmers who have come back to competition after heart surgery.
www.amazon.com/.../1500159638
I had a mechanical aortic valve replacement 25 years ago and continued to do road and track races and shot put. I only recently got more serious about swimming and wonder whether there are any others.
Yeah, this is a constant topic of discussion on the Cardiac Athletes forum. Are you taking a beta blocker? The purpose of a BB is to limit your heart rate. People on high doses report being tired and sluggish at all time, not just during exercise. Even low doses will trim about 10 beats per minute off the high end. You'll be taking it for a long time, maybe forever. As you get in better shape ask you cardiologist if the dosage can be lowered. Depending on how smooth ECG and echo tests get after a year or two, some can even go off of it completely.
Thanks for the response. Beta Blockers. Yes, a big problem except I am no longer on them, since my heart attack. My cardiologists---all of them, said no way because my pulse rate is so low, typically around 51 - 55. Before my heart attack, my Primary Care Doc had put me on BB to lower my Blood Pressure, along with another BP med. Well, it wasn't working, and I told her it slowed me down in my swimming, which she dismissed. Finally, I just quit BB on my own, then a few months later had my Infamous Heart Attack in the pool, not because of BP, or BB or anything else other than serious heart blockages. That has been fixed, 15+ months ago, no Beta Blockers, and I am still struggling with speed. Distance, not such a problem. 2500 yards today, not quite as much as before my Heart Incident, but I am more concerned about speed. Knocking off some of those minutes. tks very much. I hope others will comment also.
Yeah, this is a constant topic of discussion on the Cardiac Athletes forum. Are you taking a beta blocker? The purpose of a BB is to limit your heart rate. People on high doses report being tired and sluggish at all time, not just during exercise. Even low doses will trim about 10 beats per minute off the high end. You'll be taking it for a long time, maybe forever. As you get in better shape ask you cardiologist if the dosage can be lowered. Depending on how smooth ECG and echo tests get after a year or two, some can even go off of it completely.
Thanks for the response. Beta Blockers. Yes, a big problem except I am no longer on them, since my heart attack. My cardiologists---all of them, said no way because my pulse rate is so low, typically around 51 - 55. Before my heart attack, my Primary Care Doc had put me on BB to lower my Blood Pressure, along with another BP med. Well, it wasn't working, and I told her it slowed me down in my swimming, which she dismissed. Finally, I just quit BB on my own, then a few months later had my Infamous Heart Attack in the pool, not because of BP, or BB or anything else other than serious heart blockages. That has been fixed, 15+ months ago, no Beta Blockers, and I am still struggling with speed. Distance, not such a problem. 2500 yards today, not quite as much as before my Heart Incident, but I am more concerned about speed. Knocking off some of those minutes. tks very much. I hope others will comment also.
