How to Start cardiac physiotherapy?
Image 1: How to start cardiac physiotherapy: Source: acc.org
After your surgery you might be wondering about when to resume back to your normal activities? or when to start exercising? You do not need to worry about it, try to grab knowledge about your recovery as much as possible by reading on.
Cardiac rehabilitation physiotherapy exercises are started as soon as your condition is stable after your surgery. A stable condition here means that you have normal or within normal vitals like heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen level. Definitely it is important to make sure that there aren’t any chances of health risk.
You will be encountered by a cardiac physiotherapist during your ICU stay, passive and active assisted exercises with a combination of respiratory exercises are done to avoid stiffness, blood flow stagnancy and respiratory problems. It is quite important to move body parts immediately after surgery as soon as your condition is stable. This will be continued till your discharge from the hospital and after discharge your cardiologist will refer you to a cardiac physiotherapy department on OPD basis, or you may visit any nearby physiotherapy clinic providing cardiac rehabilitation for your further rehabilitation.
When can I start cardiac rehabilitation physiotherapy exercises?
You probably might be having a lot of questions regarding what’s next needed to be done or what you should and shouldn’t do to avoid dangerous situations after your surgery. It’s natural to doubt yourself about exercising after having a heart event. You should get the right support from your doctor, If in case your cardiologist does not mention cardiac physiotherapy to you, you can ask them about enrolling in the same.
These exercises can be started as soon as you feel comfortable and better. Ideally you should be in an exercise program from the beginning of your scheduled surgery. Different cardiac physiotherapy exercises are modified for every individual depending on their current health condition. You should indulge in a supervised exercise program weeks before undergoing a cardiac surgery, this is necessary as it helps to restore a good level of heart functioning and reduce post operative stress and body restrictions. It will eventually reduce your recovery period and you will be able to return early to your work and daily physical activities.
If somehow you haven’t enrolled in any cardiac rehabilitation or physiotherapy program after your discharge, you can start with simple, low intensity exercises at home, try to keep it short and simple. The best way to start exercising is through gentle walking for at least 2 minutes. Keep your family member along with you to supervise your health status during exercises. It would be great if you consult a physiotherapist or cardiac specialist about progressing your exercises.