Heart Failure and Starting Strength/Barbell Prescriptionkinda-

[blakegoodman]

Hello all. I'm posting hoping to get a response from any of the other MD/DOs, or anyone else who has experience working with people diagnosed with heart failure. A little background: I'm posting about my father, age 57.5, who used to be an amateur power lifter from about age 17 to 30, but quit due to us ingrate kids and work. The only number I remember him talking about was benching 425lbs at a weight of around 200-210lbs. I'm an emergency medicine physician about to graduate residency, so know something about acute processes but am out of my depth on long-term care.

My dad was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation back on the the 9th of this month, and his ECHO that day showed LVEF ~30% and the perfusion/stress showed diminished perfusion to the inferior heart wall. We had a wedding that weekend, so my dad's cardiologist and I opted for outpatient rate control with carvedilol and amiodarone, but his symptoms continued to worsen, and he was admitted 3/12. They diuresed about 8lbs off him and did a heart cath, which showed 80% stenosis to the LAD and LVEF 25%, a drug-eluting stent was placed with near complete reperfusion. He converted out of a-fib into sinus at that time but brady'd down and got hypotensive, but came out after a few minutes, and has since been feeling mostly better. Still on Coreg and amiodarone, and currently in the process of getting evaluated for "cardiac rehab" at a decent local healthplex.

His medical history is thus: hypertensive, diabetic, hypercholesterolemia, due to a combination of genetics, high-stress work, and for years eating like he was still a lifter despite not lifting. He was diagnosed around 35 and kinda-sorta followed his prescribed medical regimen, but really only started taking things seriously in the last 5 years. As far as his new-onset heart failure (orthopnea, dyspnea on exertion, palpitations, etc), it sounds like we've pinned down the severe worsening to sometime between Feb 14 and Feb 21, but he had some shortness of breath, palpitations, and exercise intolerance going back about 4 months, although he was still walking several miles or biking ~10 miles every couple of days up until mid-February.

I'll be honest. My dad was the one who got me into lifting, and even though I stopped for a long time, I'm back into it thanks to Starting Strength and everyone involved here. I'm a believer, I think this stuff works, and I think it could help my dad. I've asked hospitalists around my hospital and they seem to think that he could rehab his heart function a decent amount, especially considering the relatively acute onset. I'm looking for any guidance that y'all might have to offer regarding training, aside from the standard "What the cardiologist says is Word of God," which is obviously true **wink wink nudge nudge**. He does seem to have a good team of doctors, so I really don't think that's an issue. My dad wants to lift weights again. I think it will be good for him. I was just hoping someone might be able to give us some place to start. Right now, I'm thinking that's an empty bar.

[Steve Hill]

I am NOT a doctor. I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I think that this would be better served being posted in Rip's forum, where it will have better visibility.

[blakegoodman]

So do I delete this thread and repost into Ask Rip, or request a move by the mods?

[Steve Hill]

Just post again in Rip's forum.