For people who have suffered major heart surgery, the thought of taking up exercise and changing one’s lifestyle can be a daunting prospect. For more than a year and a half, the Community Cardiac Rehabilitation Service has been helping people who have had heart attacks, angioplasts, bypass grafts and heart valve replacements, get into appropriate fun and important exercise classes. The Grimsby Telegraph caught up with the team.
“THE course is the start of getting your life back.”
After a heart attack Alan Dixon cautiously, but enthusiastically, took part in a group exercise class at Grimsby’s Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, aiming to get back into shape.
He has not looked back. Two years later, he is not only enjoying regular exercise, he is a volunteer helper on a Community Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme run by specialist cardiac nurse Liz Horner and cardiac exercise specialist Chris Kelly.
Former Whitgift School teacher and Franklin College lecturer Mr Dixon (59), from Station Road in Healing, said: “I found that the first course I did was just the start. I think the course is the start of getting your life back after having, in my case, a heart attack.
“In many ways, while you have to do some work, the exercise is easy because of the social and fun side, and because they can become routine. I wanted to volunteer here, because I wanted to put something back in.”
Weeks after major heart surgery to widen a faulty heart valve, Nicki Trushell joined an exercise class of strangers to get back on the road to recovery. Now, 10 months down the line she does three exercise sessions a week and is a regular sight jogging up and down Cleethorpes promenade.
She credits the Community Cardiac Rehabilitation programme for giving her a much better outlook on life. She holds it in such high regard that she now also volunteers on the programme.
Mrs Trushell (60), of Sandringham Road, Cleethorpes, said: “It is a good way of getting out and mixing, because everyone is in the same boat. It is a nice atmosphere.
“Now, I go out running. I run up and down the promenade, I really enjoy it. I didn’t think I would be as fit as this at all. It is unbelievable.
“The sessions are very important because they pick you up. You are not at home sat on your own.
“The course has made me look at life in a completely different way. It has made me realise, ‘you have got a life, get out there and live it’. We have a joke and a giggle here.
The service was set up in October 2006 thanks to grants from the British Heart Foundation and the Big Lottery. Longer term, the project will be supported by North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus.
After heart surgery, patients will meet with Community Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist for North East Lincolnshire Liz Horner. A full cardiac rehabilitation assessment, called Phase II, is undertaken by Liz where risk factors are addressed and relevant lifestyle advice is given. Phase III is the six-week group exercise and education sessions.
They are held at Cleethorpes and Grimsby Leisure Centres and are free. Liz was quick to praise Sports and Leisure Management, which runs the venues, for their support.
At the first session of the six-week course, each patient is pre- assessed by undertaking a step test. Throughout the course, heart rate, weight, blood pressure and other details are taken and recorded.
Each exercise session is followed by a relaxation and stretching session and ends in a group education session with invited speakers.
Liz said: “Its not just about getting people to exercise. It’s about improving their confidence, both psychologically and physically. Once something like this happens people are worried about whether they can exercise and get back to a normal life again and return to work. This programme gives them the confidence to do that.”
When each patient has completed the six week Phase III programme, Liz then refers them onto the Steps programme – where for pounds2 per session they can access a 10-week supervised and tailored exercise programme at either Grimsby Swimming Pool, Grimsby, Cleethorpes Leisure or Immingham Leisure Centres.
Now the service is looking to work with the hospital to provide an integrated cardiac rehabilitation service for all patients in North East Lincolnshire.
Jim Locke (58), of Milton Road, on the Nunsthorpe estate, had an angioplasty on February 28. He is halfway through the six-week exercise programme.
He said: “I knew I had to improve my fitness. I have been out of work for a year because of my health. The only way to get back to work was to get fit again.
“If I had known how much I would enjoy these classes, I would have done them years ago.
“I didn’t look forward to the first session. I thought exercise was something I hadn’t done for a while, since my army days. But, I have enjoyed it and it has been fun.
George Dales (67), who lives at Scartho Top, had three stents fitted into his arteries.
He said: “The classes have been challenging and fun. I enjoy them. It has been nice to meet the other people in the class. After the course is over, I am going to continue exercising. I think I will do a mixture of things, including swimming.”
Fred Soper (71), who lives on Humberston Fitties, had a triple heart bypass some years ago, and he has recently had a stent fitted.
He said: “The programme is brilliant. It gets you back moving again. It has made me realise I have muscles which I haven’t used for a while.
“It is nice to have the expert help, rather than doing it on your own. I think it is easy to vegetate when you get a little bit older, especially if you have had something like heart surgery.”
Find out more
For more information about the group, call (01472) 874111.
(c) 2008 Grimsby Telegraph. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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