"Experience with Cardiac Rehabilitation"

Due to my severe heart failure, my cardiologist, Dr. Murdoch, referred me to the cardiac rehabilitation program at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. For a long time, I had experienced chest pains or tightness after a workout, which prevented me from exercising regularly. I was confused and felt unsure if I could do any exercise at all. I was completely fed up with it. I hoped that during this rehabilitation, I would learn whether or not I could exercise and what type of exercises I could do.

At the start of the initial exercises, I thought to myself: This is as easy as a regular first-grade exercise, compared to what I was doing. This is a piece of cake. Would this help me? However, I was very surprised when, during these seemingly simple exercises, I turned red, and sweat poured down my face so fast I couldn't wipe it off quickly enough. I thought: This must be working.

I'm not an extrovert, and I was worried about how I would feel in this new environment. The staff: Theresa, Craig, Lai and Helen are truly wonderful. I felt very comfortable and at ease there. I liked their individual, warm approach to us. I felt important to them, even though we were in a group. What I appreciated was that each person performed the exercises in a similar, yet slightly different way, which gave me variety. Most importantly, I admire their dedication to work.

Each staff member continuously monitored our performance and gave us instructions if we had any problems. They knew who to measure, whose workout intensity needed to be adjusted that specific day and so on. After the workouts, Theresa shared all sorts of information with us about nutrition, exercise methods,  intensity, walking group and other things we could do ourselves. We received leaflets with instructions on how to exercise at home, as well as a link to the exercises, which made it much easier for me to exercise at home, and now my husband and I exercise together.

Very often, after completing the exercises, there was time for relaxation or meditation, which was much needed. Theresa informed me about a group walks, relaxation and meditation classes, and meeting with a dietitian, all of which I gladly took advantage of. At the end of the course, Theresa repeated the walking test, which was twice as good as the previous one, which was conducted just before the start of the rehabilitation course. This coincided with a stress test at Golden Jubilee Hospital, which also showed better results than few months prior.

Due to this course, I learned that my mistake in exercising was skipping the warm-up and cool-down, and that I didn't have to be afraid of weight training like I had before, as it only strengthened my arm muscles and my core. I am very grateful to the entire group for the help I received, which was more than I expected.

I wanted to mention that during my first visit with qualified nurse Helen I was pleasantly surprised when Helen informed me about other forms of support, including a psychologist. At this time, I thought I didn't need such a visit, but when Helen mentioned I could cancel at any time, I decided to do it. I'm so grateful for that. I thought I was mentally strong and could handle stress well. This turned out to inaccurate. In just a few questions everything came to light. It turned out I didn't know enough about myself, and suppressing my emotions wasn’t the answer.

I find it so interesting to continuously discover myself. All of this—exercise, relaxation, meditation, and diet—forms one whole, and knowing this is essential for physical and mental health for us as patients. The fact that I felt stronger after exercising motivated me to exercise more often. I no longer think so often about when I'll die, but about what I can still do, because I still have a life ahead of me