cardiac rehab program – Cardiac Wellness Institute

Imagine a young and healthy man in his early 20s aspiring to serve in the Indian Air Force being turned down due to a hitherto unknown heart murmur picked up during his medical evaluation! He was devastated, his dream was shattered and he was left to deal with a diagnosis of a congenital heart valve disease. The only silver lining was that it was not a life-threatening condition and he just needed to stay on a regular follow-up.

The next two decades saw this determined and gritty guy grow both professionally and personally into an admirable and well accomplished entrepreneur, business executive and a loving husband and father. While busy with life’s multiple roles, he remained consistent in his fitness endeavours, trained relentlessly, and went on to participate in eight consecutive annual marathons!

Despite an angioplasty to address his coronary blocks in his mid 50s and an open heart surgery to replace his diseased heart valve in the subsequent year, his passion for holistic health and wellbeing endured! We at Cardiac Wellness Institute have had the privilege to work closely with him for the past three months, guiding him in his personalised cardiac rehab program and learning several life lessons from him along the way.

In fact, he is currently on a high intensity interval training (HIIT) regimen along with strength training and balance exercises and is making excellent progress. We are confident he will be back on the tracks for this year’s race and next year’s half marathon with our team of rehab professionals cheering him loudly and applauding his commitment to live life to the fullest.

Let us hear from our real-life hero himself on the ups and downs of his life and some insights into how he coped with the unexpected hurdles and eventually converted them into stepping stones.

Q. How did you feel when you first got to know about your cardiac condition?

A. I was in a state of denial as it was identified in the Air Force Physical examination. I believed that the whole thing was an error as I was physically active and played cricket in both my school and college years, and therefore, wasn’t mentally prepared to accept this news.

Q. When many of us get bogged down by an unexpected diagnosis, what motivated you to participate in long-distance running?

A. As I was in a state of denial, I wanted to prove to myself that I am in good health. I am someone who prefers to push myself by engaging in physical activities like climbing temples atop hills without a break, playing badminton, and doing yoga, all of which make me feel fresh. In fact, in June 2023, two months prior to having an angioplasty, I completed 108 Suryanamaskarams in a stretch.

Q. What are your hobbies? Is there something that you wish to learn afresh?

A. I enjoy engaging in physically challenging hobbies. I enjoy playing sports like badminton and cricket, and go by the motto “Whenever possible, walk; wherever possible walk”. Learning music is something I’ve always wanted to do.

Q. As a busy business consultant and investor, how do you find the time for your passions?

A. Whenever you want to do something new, you have to create time for it. For instance, when I decided to incorporate yoga and workouts in my daily routine, I set aside time to do it by waking up an hour early.

Q. Could you describe what your biggest hurdles were while recovering from your recent open heart surgery and how you have overcome them?

A. I was confused about what I should be doing to help my recovery. Once I enrolled in the Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Cardiac Wellness Institute, they helped me in a personalised manner with a systematic and scientific approach.

Q. What aspects of your Cardiac Rehabilitation program have you enjoyed the most?

A. I enjoy doing strength training and core exercises, and approaching it with confidence. Likewise, my doubts were addressed, giving me peace of mind.

I would like to add here that my cardiac rehab team comprising of Dr. Priya Chockalingam, Ms. Agalya and Ms. Rupini, is friendly. They pay close attention to details, show interest, and ensure that patients are doing things right. It is gentle and makes me feel good.

I am also glad that the cardiac rehab program is evidence-based, cost-effective and has good value for money and it is the best way to prevent future health complications and hospitalisations. I have completed 12 sessions in Phase 1 of my cardiac rehab program and am now enrolled in Phase 2.

Q . What is your health and fitness goal for 2025, 2026, and beyond?

A. In the years ahead, my goal is to continue participating in International Yoga Day, run a 10 km marathon, or maybe even a half marathon. I would also love to resume playing cricket and badminton, as well as continue climbing those hilltop temples.

Q When you are stressed out or anxious, what coping strategies do you use?

A. I have been meditating for the past 10 years, and I use meditation as a coping strategy.

Q. As a technology expert, what do you think is the future of health tech?

A. My vision for the future in health technology is personalisation of healthcare, early detection of risk factors, prevention of disease, and evidence-based rehab and recovery.

Q. Can you share your most treasured life event with our readers?

A. Every moment is a treasured moment, that is how I approach life.

What is stress?

The word stress has become synonymous with mental stress, which is nothing but a psychological imbalance triggered by environmental factors. We’ve all experienced one or more stressful situations during our lifetime – work deadlines, competitive exams, lack of support, financial crisis, separation of a loved one, family pressure – and so on and so forth. The question at hand is “can these be life-threatening?” And the answer is “yes”.

Let me explain myself. Stress can be acute or chronic; positive or negative; obvious or hidden and, most importantly, well-managed or poorly-managed. In other words, stress can be benign when short-lived, constructive, identified, acknowledged and appropriately managed. And malignant when not.

Stress and the heart

There are 9 modifiable risk factors for heart attack of which stress (grouped under psychosocial factors) is the most sinister; it is not only the most difficult to diagnose but also the only factor that can potentially cause all of the other factors (all 8 of them shown in the image below; you can enlarge the image by clicking on it).

And there are 2 other important mechanisms of stress induced heart disease namely coronary vasospasm and stress cardiomyopathy. We will discuss these entities in a separate blog post.

A real-life example

We recently provided cardiac rehab for a 44-year-old gentleman who had suffered a critical heart attack and had undergone angioplasty with stenting. He came to us 2 weeks after discharge and was very worried about his health. Both he and his wife were confused, anxious and upset. They were concerned about the future of their family, which included 2 young children and elderly parents. We began by explaining to them the cause for his heart attack; his lifestyle risk factors were lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits, his metabolic risk factors were obesity, dyslipidemia and diabetes and his newly-diagnosed risk factor was uncontrolled severe stress related to the financial woes of his construction business. The point that these were all modifiable risk factors and that he could lead a very healthy and normal life moving forward was their only consolation. And he was determined to do all he could to ensure a strong heart and a good health, for his own sake and that of his family. And so began his journey to a successful cardiac rehab program, enriched with behaviour modification and stress management sessions, psychological counselling and diet education, supervised exercise and risk factor management training.

At the end of the rehab program, he was confident about his health and was motivated to adhere to a healthy lifestyle for a lifetime. He enrolled in a maintenance plan for continued healthcare support. His wife was convinced that this was a life-changing program for her husband and that her family’s health was now guaranteed due to all the knowledge and awareness she had gained from us.

Stress mantras

So, remember these simple stress mantras for a healthy life.

Stress does not come from outside; it is your own response to the outside world
Do not be afraid of stress; do not ignore stress
Be aware of your stress triggers
Try to avoid or overcome the recurring triggers
Manage your stress appropriately
Get professional help if necessary
There is no one size fits all solution to manage stress, each individual is different