Cardiac Surgery (Physiotherapy)
Date: April 2016
Review: April 2018
Ref number: A-291/AS/Physiotherapy/Cardiac Surgery
PDF: Cardiac Surgery (Physiotherapy) [pdf] 611KB
Guide to physical activities
Your heart disease may have limited your ability to exercise before surgery and your body may have naturally lost some fitness. Following your surgery your heart should now be able to work more efficiently with improved circulation and oxygenation to the heart and other muscles of the body.
It is important to build up your fitness to keep your heart healthy.
Walking is the only form of exercise recommended for the first six weeks after your stay in hospital as your heart needs time to heal.
- Walking should be progressed gradually according to how you feel.
- Start with a twice daily walk of five minutes.
- Increase the time by 2-3minutes every other day.
- Aim to be walking 30 minutes a day by 4-6 weeks.
- Always do a warm up before walking and cool down afterwards.
- You should be able to walk and talk without getting short of breath. If you do get breathless you are pushing yourself too hard too soon.
- Leave the dog at home for the first 3 months if it pulls on the lead.
Remember everyone is different so exercise at a level that feels right for you
It is not safe to exercise if:
- You are unwell
- You feel tired
- You develop chest pain, dizziness or undue shortness of breath.
See your GP if you develop chest pain and carry your GTN spray/tablet if you have been given them.
Warm Up:
Each time you start walking begin slowly and build up to a brisk walk. This will allow your body to slowly adapt to the increased level of exercise. This allows your body to increase blood flow and oxygen appropriately, minimising the risks of chest pain or disturbance in your heart rhythm.
Cool Down:
Towards the end of your walk take time to slow down. Cooling down slowly helps bring your heart and body back to a resting state. This can reduce the risk of changes to your heart rhythm, a sudden drop in blood pressure, or stiffness and muscle ache.
Effort Scale
Look at the numbers and the expressions on the following page. This is a measure of how you feel when you are exercising. Use the activity record to monitor your progress. Try to be as honest as possible.
Effort Scale
|
6 |
No exertion at all |
Complete rest |
|
7 |
Extremely light |
Too easy
K |
|
8 |
|
|
|
9 |
Very light |
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
Just right
J |
|
13 |
Somewhat hard |
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
15 |
Hard |
Too hard
L |
|
16 |
|
|
|
17 |
Very hard |
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
20 |
Very very hard |
Source: The Borg Scale for Rating of Perceived Exertion
K= too easy
J= just right; you can talk but you feel warm and are breathing more heavily than normal but it is no problem to continue
L= too hard; you are out of breath and not able to talk
- Plymouth Community Healthcare (CIC), Plymouth Tel: 01752 431 812
- South Hams Hospital, Kingsbridge Tel: 01548 855 985
- Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust,Torquay Tel: 01803 527 062
- Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter Tel: 01392 403 973
- North Devon Health Care NHS Trust, Barnstaple Tel: 01271 341 531
- Liskeard Tel: 01579 373 535
- St Austell Tel: 01726 873 086
- Newquay Tel: 01726 873 086
- Truro Tel: 01872 246 904
- Redruth Tel: 01209 318 063
- Penzance Tel: 01209 318 063
Helpful contacts
- Derriford Hospital Switchboard: 01752 202 082 Website: www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk
- Torrington: 01752 431 780
- Clearbrook ward: 01752 431 771
- Patient Advice and Liaison Service : 01752 439 884
