Exercise and Heart Disease

From:  John Hernried, M.D.

          

I lost a good friend recently.  He was a man I admired for his  youthful outlook and spirit.  At 62, he loved nothing more than skiing. I hope to be as excited about skiing when I am his age.  Yet, he also told me about some alarming symptoms he had while skiing, including blacking out a couple of times during a run.  Even though he was a friend and not a patient, I put my doctor hat on and told him that I was concerned and asked him to see a doctor.  He promised after several further prompts from me not to ski until he was checked out.  For whatever reason, he decided to follow his own voice and ignore my pleas.  He died of a heart attack while skiing down a slope.  As a physician, I am frustrated that he did not listen to my warnings. His death was preventable.  As a friend, I am sad for the loss and I will miss him. I take some comfort knowing that he died the way he would have wanted..

Many people engage in strenuous physical activity after being sedentary for long periods of time.  This burst of activity can be the result of New Year’s resolutions , wintertime activities such as shoveling snow or skiing, or being lured into one of the specials at the local gym.  Yet, not everyone should automatically start up a program without seeing a physician.  When should you get checked out?

At OTC, as part of our new weight loss/exercise program called Re-Entry Plus, we evaluate each person prior to approving exercise.  For those who may have risk for silent heart disease, we ask that this be evaluated by a primary care physician or cardiologist before beginning exercise. 

How about you?  Should you see a physician before you begin to exercise?  My answer is when in doubt, consult your physician.  If you are curious you can take the test called the Par-Q on this link. If you answer yes on any of the questions, please make your appointment with your doctor and bring in a copy of the questionnaire.

The next time I am on the slopes will be very bittersweet for me.  My words could not help my friend, but I hope that they will help someone who reads this blog.

Comments

[Jon]

You can read about my heart attack experience here:

http://heartattackrider.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/34-years-old-who-had-a-heart-attack-has-3-stents-can-he-still-snowboard/

I feel fine, passed my stress test, have a 65% ejection fraction, do not experience symptoms when exercizing.

What worries me is I have had shortness of breath since my heart attack that is on and off (same kind of feeling I had for a few days before the attack), my heart rate reduction after exercise seems to take to long, and my original attack was triggered by intense cardio exercise training at the gym. My Dr. says everything's great, not to worry and I am good to go snowboarding and hiking whenever I want. I live in constant fear that there is another vulnerable plaque ready to explode and kill me at any moment, especially if I go snowboarding or hiking again.

I'd love to know your opinion.