Experiencing a heart attack is a life-changing event, but with the right approach, you can navigate life after a heart attack with confidence. From understanding medications to making lifestyle changes, these essential tips can guide you through recovery and help prevent another heart attack in the future.
Remember to take your medications as prescribed and report side effects to your health care professional immediately.
Visit your doctor within 1 week after the heart attack. This is an important visit to help keep your recovery on track and to share any new or medication-related issues.
Common risk factors include smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Use prescribed medications and lifestyle changes to lower your risk of another heart attack.
Home blood pressure and sugar monitoring are helpful to make improvements. Ask your doctor what your numbers should be and how often they should be checked. Periodical cholesterol (LDL) check is essential, and in the majority of the patients the target is 50 mg/dL or below.
Talk to your doctor to help you determine when you can begin physical activity and what suits your needs and condition. Many doctors recommend walking because it’s safe, easy, and free.
Your doctor may refer you to a cardiac rehabilitation program.
Our dieticians can guide you to a ‘Heart healthy diet’. Good nutrition can help control your weight and sugar levels. It also helps to lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol. A healthy dietary pattern emphasizes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes, and non-tropical vegetable oils.
Patients who experience a heart attack may feel a wide range of emotions, such as anger and depression, typically for about two to six months. This is normal. Do not feel shy to discuss about this with your family, doctor or caregivers.
Every year, many of the hundreds of people in the country who have a heart attack survive and enjoy a normal, productive life. Your heart is healing. With each passing day, you can become stronger and more active.
Make preventing another heart attack your priority. Here are five things you can do
After a heart attack, it’s important to manage your risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and avoiding tobacco and nicotine products.
Be sure to:
After your heart attack, you’ll probably feel a wide range of emotions. Fear, anxiety, anger and depression are some of the most common.
Fear of:
Be patient. Give yourself a chance to recover. Over time, these feelings usually go away. If you need help dealing with your emotions, ask your health care professional for resources to help you.
Your heart attack likely had an emotional impact on your family and friends as well. They were probably scared when you were in the hospital. It’s also common for family members to feel guilty. They may feel they did something that led to your heart attack.
It’s important to talk with them about their feelings.
Talk to your health care professional about a safe schedule for returning to work.
Most people go back to work within 2-3 weeks but it can be as long as 2 months.
Your health care professional may have you take tests to find out if you can do the kind of work you did before.
Most people can resume within a few weeks after a heart attack. Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider about this and do not feel shy.
Sometimes the doctor may wish to do an exercise tolerance test to ensure if you are safe to engage in this activity.
You can gather a lot of information from the internet. Self-education is helpful. Often, this can also result in confusion and anxiety.
The best option is to ask your cardiologist who looked after you when you were treated for the heart attack.
To make an appointment with your cardiologist or any other cardiologist at Fakeeh University Hospital, Dubai, visit our website at www.fuh.care or call 4444 414 04.
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