Oh, for cardiac rehab then

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LPN Kristin Dooley checks the author's oxygen level and heart rate during his cardiac workout. Photo/Jane Hooper/re 1.0.2

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February 20, 2011

ALVIN REINER Press-Republican The Press Republican Sun Feb 20, 2011, 07:58 AM EST

When I had my heart attack six years ago, it came without warning.

I had been told I had borderline cholesterol (total around 200), but because I was active, a non-smoker and not overweight, medication probably was not needed.

Earlier that week, I played basketball for two hours, rode my bike and engaged in other physical exertions. Waking up in the middle of the night, I had a dull pain under my sternum and then started perspiring profusely. Recognizing two of the signs, I had my wife to take me to Elizabethtown Community Hospital, and after being stabilized was sent to Fletcher Allen Healthcare in Burlington.

Two stents later, my 60-year-old body seemed ready to resume my prior life, but with mental trepidation. Though my cardiologist gave me the OK to go back on the basketball court and to carry firewood, etc., I had concerns as to how much I should exert myself. Every time I participated in a strenuous activity, thoughts ran rampant through my mind.

"Should I be doing this? How much can my heart take?"

Unfortunately, there was no program to monitor me and to ease me into getting back to what I considered my normal activities.

Recently, when ECH was in the process of setting up its cardiac rehabilitation program, I volunteered my body for the cause of science. Hooked up to the system — a small wireless monitor that relays statistics to a computer — the cardio-rehab team put me through the paces. I felt reassured that the exercises I was engaged in were within the confines of my cardiovascular system's ability. In fact, I felt gratified that the effort was not close to taxing my system.

What a blessing this program would have been six years ago.

A few days later, I witnessed a drill to ensure coordination between the cardiac rehabilitation center and ECH. A 47-year-old man supposedly over-exerted his heart and went into cardiac distress. A "Code Blue" was initiated, and immediately the medical team went into action while EMS was notified. CPR was started, medications were administered and a defibrillator was attached in less than a minute. Shortly thereafter, the Elizabethtown-Lewis Emergency Squad arrived and transported the then-alert patient to the ER.

Though one hopes it would not be needed, it was reassuring that medical attention was immediate.