"My Cardiac journey"

During my summer holiday I unfortunately had a heart attack and had to have a stent fitted. Once I returned home, I was referred to Gartnavel for care and assessment. I was offered the cardiac rehabilitation programme as part of my recovery.

I was apprehensive at first about attending and feeling a little bit sorry for myself after my recent event but I'm very glad I did. The rehabilitation class was great for my physical fitness and mental well-being. The staff were all fantastic, friendly, supportive and helpful from start to finish. The programme offered physical rehabilitation from proper warm ups ,a good and varied circuit training to strength and warm down all done and monitored by the staff who regularly checked on the patients.

Another aspect of the programme are the talks on diet ,blood pressure among many of the topics covered all related to cardiac health. It also offered additional support in classes for relaxation and mindfulness. You also have the aspect of sharing your experience and hearing from your fellow patients who have been through similar.

On the whole, the cardiac rehabilitation programme has been a huge help in my journey. I started this pretty much with little to no knowledge and left fitter, healthier and more knowledgeable going forward.

A big thank you to all the staff -  in particular Michelle, Carina, Karen , Sonia, Gillian, Fiona, Clare and Helen.