Life After A Heart Attack

Does a person ever recover from a heart attack?

Yes, but the level of activities that they may resume depends on the degree of the heart attack. Daily life after a heart attack may look just as before the heart attack with no negative effects. A heart attack that caused more damage to the heart muscle tissue may result in a more limited list of activities for daily life. In any case, anyone suffering a heart attack needs to pay attention to their diet, exercise and other aspects of their post heart attack life to insure that they do not experience another heart attack. This may start by making sure any cigarette smokers use their heart attacks as a wake up call to quit smoking!

What sports can a person take part in after a heart attack?

This depends on the size of the heart attack. Work closely with your doctor, but exercise after a heart attack becomes an important part of recovery and resuming a normal life.

What sports should be avoided after a heart attack?

Scuba diving may need to be avoided because it causes a vagal reaction which causes a decrease in blood pressure.

Which heart disease patients should still scuba dive?
It depends on the severity of the heart attack. If the blocked artery has been corrected such as through bypass surgery or angioplasty and if the patient then has a normal stress test then diving is permitted in warm waters. However, in a person who has had extensive muscle death after a heart attack, then diving is not permitted due to the inability of the muscles to keep up with the pumping requirement needed. It is not recommended for most people with coronary artery disease who have not corrected the problem to dive.

How soon after a heart attack can a person fly in an airplane?

A person may fly in an airplane as soon as there is recovery from the heart attack.

How often can a person fly after a heart attack?

There is no restriction.

Should a person who has had a heart attack avoid saunas or steam showers?

They should be careful in these circumstances as they may cause a drop in blood pressure which may effect blood flow to the brain and to the heart. This may cause the patient to pass out or lose consciousness.

Should a person try to live a normal life after a heart attack or should they restrict certain regular activities?
The level of activity depends on the severity of the heart attack. If a large part of the heart muscle is involved and rendered ineffective then there may be more limitations on the physical activity. However, if the heart attack is mild and it is not complicated by heart failure then normal life activity may be resumed.

When can a heart attack patient drive a car again?

A heart attack survivor may drive in 2-4 weeks depending on how severe the heart attack was and if there were any complications.

How long until a heart attack victim can go back to work?

Depending on the type of work, patients can go back to work very soon after discharge from the hospital.

What if they have a physically demanding job?
A physically demanding job will need a longer time and will be evaluated based on follow up stress tests.

Are there some things I should never eat again ever for my whole life?
It depends on many variables such as your weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, and sugar levels. In general it is best to avoid fats, especially animal fats and saturated fats, desserts that are high in sugar and butter. Restrictions on diet for patients with a history of heart disease may remain in effect for the rest of their life.

I’ve talked to people who feel depressed after a heart attack, what is the relationship between depression and a heart attack?
It is believed to be mainly situational.

What can help a heart attack patient through any depression?
Cardiac rehab and anti-depressants may help through depression. In the January 24, 2007 issue of JAMA1 a study was published that showed that “citalopram or sertraline plus clinical management should be considered as a first-step treatment for patients with coronary artery disease and major depression” and that interpersonal psychotherapy did not add any benefit to the treatment.

Can a heart attack patient ever have sex again?

Yes. Sex is usually ok when a person can achieve 4-5 mets on a treadmill test without symptoms or other complications such as arrhythmia or significant ST changes (some people use ability to climb two flights of stairs without problems as their guideline for resuming sex). Usual heart rate with sex is 110-120 so when this heart rate can be achieved safely sex is usually ok. Interesting however is that the data on death and sex is from a study on business men who died suddenly - the study was from Japan. Additional circumstances included being with an unfamiliar partner, having eaten a large meal, having had an excess of alcohol and sex is added to this mix - not a generally good thing to do! It is appropriate to treat sex just like any other physical activity with the exception of adding the emotional environment to the mix! Really important is to also address the concerns of the "spouse or significant other" often the patient is ready to resume sex and the partner is scared to death!

Heart Artery Disease FAQ

Q. Can you define heart disease?

A. The definition of heart disease as a term may describe many maladies including arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis (artery disease or hardening of the arteries), congestive heart failure, valve problems. Other heart diseases or heart issues may result from other diseases such as heart trouble related to rheumatic fever. In this particular FAQ we will concentrate on heart artery disease sometimes called hardening of the arteries and medically referred to as atherosclerosis. So while you should remember how the dictionary may define heart disease, as used below in this FAQ we will used the limited definition specifically referring to heart disease from blockage in arteries leading to the heart.

Q. What happens in the body with heart artery disease?

A. Plaque builds up in the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart, then build up of the plaque causes a narrowing of the arteries restricting blood flow. If the restriction becomes significant enough it can affect a person’s ability to exert themselves and might lead to a heart attack.

Q. Is heart disease contagious?

A. No.

Q. Is heart artery disease inherited?


A. It can be, those with a family history of heart disease may have a predisposition to heart disease as well.

Q. If you have heart disease under age 60 who should you alert?

A. All first degree family members, like brothers, sisters and children so they can be screened for cholesterol, blood pressure and to make sure their doctors are aware and can pay more attention to potential heart disease symptoms.

Q. If you live with heart disease yourself who should you tell?

A. First you should make sure that those who live with you and your primary caretakers know. Next you should let other treating physicians know, including your dentist.

Q. Is there anything the people around me should know to do?

A. Those close to people living with heart disease should know where the patient’s nitro is and how to administer it (in cases where a doctor prescribed nitro for the person with the heart disease). All people living with heart disease patients should know how to call 911, including children. For kids this may just involve knowing how to dial 911 if the person has a heart attack, for adults they also need to understand what do in the event a heart disease patient displays any signs of chest pain. Read more on that in our hospitalization FAQ. Everyone, especially those living with a heart disease patient should learn CPR.

Q. How can you detect heart artery disease?


A. There are many tests read more in our Operations and Tests FAQ.

Q. Who should get tests for heart disease?

A. Any person displaying chest pain, anyone with family history of heart disease, anyone over 65. for more read the Symptoms FAQ and if you fear you see signs of a heart attack get checked. Even if your alleged heart disease symptoms turn out to be nothing, carving out part of your busy day to check them out will not take too much time or effort. Doctors want you to follow up on potential heart attack symptoms and will not resent the fact that you may have used their time on something that had nothing to do with heart disease. On the other hand, if you ignore heart disease signs because you figure there is no way you could have a heart attack or because you can't be bothered and you do have heart disease, a catastrophic heart attack could result. Think of it this way: If you think you may have a heart problem and you see a doctor who says you were wrong, you made a small mistake, if you ignore a real heart problem you made a HUGE mistake.

Q. Can anything reverse plaque buildup associated with heart artery disease?

A. Lowering cholesterol has been show to reverse plaque accumulation.

Q. Is heart artery disease always fatal?

A. No, it is not always fatal; you can live with a certain level of blockage without it affecting your life at all. On the other hand, if you ignore heart artery disease, especially a serious case, the blockage may eventually build to the point where tragedy might occur. People with any heart disease must never forget sometimes with even a low level of the disease a major event can occur because sometimes the plaque becomes unstable, ruptures and causes complete heart artery blockage.

Q. Can you live a normal life with some level of plaque buildup?

A. Yes, it depends on your level of activity; many people live with low levels of plaque lining their arteries and never become aware they have any heart disease at all. Generally blockage levels reaching as much as 10%-20% might not be noticed by a normal person.

Q. What kind of symptoms might someone feel as heart artery disease started to affect them?
A. You may never feel anything. That defines part of the problem with this type of heart disease; you may not experience symptoms until the disease has progressed quite far along. Unfortunately death sometimes marks the first symptom. Early signs, if they do present themselves, may include fatigue, specifically increased fatigue with exertion, shortness of breath, especially with physical effort, and sometimes chest pain which may be mistaken for heartburn. For more serious symptom as the disease progresses see the heart attack symptoms FAQ.

Q. They call this hardening of the arteries; do the heart arteries really get hard like rock?
A. Eventually, yes the plaque within the heart arteries gets fairly hard but more like coral than rock.

Q. Does plaque build up in other places besides heart arteries?

A. Yes anywhere you have blood vessels. Plaque buildup in arteries providing blood flow to the brain may lead to a stroke. In the arteries to the lower extremities you may develop peripheral vascular disease more specifically called claudication which causes leg pain predominantly in the calf. Buildup in arteries supplying blood to the kidneys can cause kidney disease, and the similar problems may occur with plaque inhibiting blood flow to any of the major organs.

Q. At what age does heart artery disease start?

A. Much earlier than most people think, depending on diet and family history it may start as early as age 10.