Excessive Exercise after Open Heart Surgery: "I am interested to hear what other people have experienced and have to say about this."

"...I am not ready to accept this..."  

-Jerry Katell, Actor and Runner 

I was training for my third Los Angeles marathon when in December, 2012 my eye doctor noticed that one pupil was smaller than the other and that my eyelid was drooping, signs of Horner's Syndrome. He sent me to the Jules Styne Eye Institute at UCLA where it was confirmed and I was immediately sent to get MRI's and MRA of my head chest and abdomen. These showed no signs of cancer which can cause Horner's but did show that my ascending aorta was dilated to 5.5mm. My gp had noticed six months previous that my heart murmur was stronger than it had ever been and sent me for an ecocardiogram which showed dilation to 4.2mm. Upon hearing about the additional dilation he sent me to Dr. John Robertson at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. 

Due to my travel schedule and his surgery schedule, the appointment did not occur until February 14th. In the meantime I continued to train and ran 12, 14, 15, 16 and 20 miles in Boston in 28 degree weather - all with no chest symptoms of any kind. My goal in the marathon was to run it in the same time as my first one at age 61 - 4:37 which at age 72 would put me in the top 10 in my age group. I believe I could have done it. Dr. Robertson did a CT scan and called me that evening on my way to a Laker game and told me I had a chronic aortic dissection and would need surgery. I wanted a second opinion and went to Dr. Steven Tabak, cardiologist, in Beverly Hills, who set an appointment for me with Dr. Alfredo Trento at Cedars Sinai Hospital. He had an opening the following week on February 26th and I decided to proceed. 

He did a dacron graft and replaced my aortic valve with a bovine valve. With my trained body, my blood returned to normal in 4 days instead of the usual 4 to 6 weeks. After two weeks, Dr.Tabak detected a heart flutter and last week I went back to Cedars for a cardioversion which worked and returned my heartbeat to normal. 

I am doing cardio rehab at UCLA. Last week one of my doctors told me he does not want me doing excessive exercise which would cause elevated blood pressure which means no marathons or half marathons or century bike rides. He said I could play competitive tennis, run 6 miles and bike 30 miles. I am not ready to accept this although at the moment it is a non-issue only eight weeks out from surgery. I am interested to hear what other people have experienced and have to say about this.

-Jerry

2013 AHA Young Professionals Red Ball Highlights

American Heart Association Young Professionals 2013 Red Ball and "Young Heart" Award Celebration. April 18, 2013 at Crimson NYC

Highlights

[full story]

Heart Surgeon Allan Stewart from New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center will receive "Young Heart Award" at the 2013 Red Ball

One notable event that brings together heart doctors, patients, and their families & advocates is the annual "NYC Young Professionals Red Ball" hosted by the American Heart Association. The Red Ball will be held on April 18, 2013 at Crimson NYC and features a cocktail reception, dancing and a silent auction.  It is an affair that attracts over 300 of New York City’s young leaders from the business, medical, philanthropic, entertainment and fashion communities. The Red Ball is an opportunity to mix business with pleasure while raising critically-needed funds to support the AHA’s life-saving research, education and community-based initiatives. The goal is to raise $100,000 to support the AHA’s mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. 

Dr. Allan Stewart, a heart surgeon at New York-Presbyterian / Columbia University Medical Center is the honoree for this year's event. He is the recipient of the 2013 Young Hearts Award. "This is a tremendous honor and I am humbled by the organization’s faith and confidence in me." said Dr. Stewart. He is described by his patients as having a larger than life persona. "He is a life-changer, not just a life-saver," said Benjamin Carey a former patient. "He has great relationships with all of his patients and he is a Rockstar in every sense of the word. The room changes when he walks into it, conversation is enhanced when he joins it, and lives are enriched by him. He embodies being a doctor in ways that are not taught in medical school. He is one of the few heart surgeons who truly understand what it means to be on both sides of the scalpel", said Carey. 

Heartosauruses; this is a nice opportunity to get together with people who share a common bond. Join the camaraderie, share stories, and set new goals. By purchasing tickets and attending you will be supporting the AHA’s life-saving research, education and community-based initiatives. 

If you have any questions you can contact Jaimie Racanelli, at the American Heart Association at (212) 878-5908 or email her at Jaimie.Racanelli@heart.org. Tell her Heartosaurus sent you!

 2013 Young Professionals Red Ball 
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Crimson, NYC
915 Broadway
New York, NY  
7:30 - 10:30 p.m. 
$150 for 1 ticket, $275 for 2.

Purchase Tickets

The Heartosaurus Guide to Celebrating American Heart Month: for Heart Patients, Friends, and Relatives

 American Heart Month. What's the big deal, and what am I supposed to do?

American Heart Month is a month-long United States observance established by 36 U.S.C. § 101. The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation—

(1) designating February as American Heart Month;
(2) inviting the chief executive officers of the States, territories, and possessions of the United States to issue proclamations designating February as American Heart Month; 
and
(3) urging the people of the United States to recognize the nationwide problem of heart and blood vessel diseases and to support all essential programs required to solve the problem.      
Every year, heart disease takes the lives of over half a million Americans. It is the leading cause of death in the United States.  The disease affects everyone; mothers, fathers, daughters, grandparents, siblings, friends, and co-workers. 

February is American Heart Month, and February 1st, is National Wear Red Day. 

Okay. -- Support the push for increased awareness, examine our lifestyles to ensure they are heart healthy, and maybe donate to a heart charity? What else? 

The guide below contains action items that you may find a bit more interesting and amusing than the status quo.

The Heartosaurus Guide to Celebrating 
American Heart Month

Heart Patients:

• Pick a few new goals this month. Make them lofty and exciting. Put them on paper and then tell people about them. By doing this you send the energy of potential out into the universe and you give the goals their initial momentum. The goals can be related to anything, but they need to be BIG. The excitement is that they will take a lot to attain, and you'll have to have your heart in it to get them done! Examples: Register for a Marathon, 5k, 10k, triathlon, climb the highest mountain in your state, make a patchwork quilt, change careers, start a blog, volunteer at the hospital, start a business, rekindle an old relationship, set a savings goal, join a gym, get a tattoo, buy a boat, learn a new language, go skydiving, take a trip, buy a motorcycle, write a book, lose weight. You get the idea. Pick the goals and make it happen!
• You are part of the "zippered chest" club. Hit up the other heart patients you know on email, Facebook and twitter and let them know you're thinking of them.
• Do a commemorative run or walk this month and be grateful your ticker is still working. This shouldn't be an organized event. It's about you hitting the road alone and having a quiet mind and moment of introspection. 
• Reach out to any doctors that are significant to you and let them know you're thinking of them this month.
• Arrange a stress test or CT scan with your cardiologist if you haven't had one recently.
• Organize a special dinner with your heart cronies. 
• Take a time out and reflect on your life from your date of open heart surgery until now. What's changed? Have you forgotten or become complacent about what was important at that time?
• Buy a copy of Barefoot in November or another inspiring heart book and give it to a heart patient or relative of one.
• Join your local heart association and get involved socially, speak at events, and volunteer.
• Pick something simple, that you've always wanted to do but never had the guts to, and do it! Serenade your significant other publicly, dance like nobody's watching, if you're single ask someone out that you think is out of your league, stand in the back of a crowded elevator and bark, make vanilla pudding and put it in a mayo jar and eat it in public, run into a store and yell out "What year is it?" and when someone answers yell out "It worked!!" and run out cheering. You only live once right? Who knows better than a heart patient.
• Buy a Heartosaurus T-shirt and represent the fighter in you!
• Wear red on Feb. 1

Friends and Relatives:

• Make a small donation to a heart charity. Even $1 can help.
• Run a race, go to a dance, or participate in some type of event in which proceeds go to a heart charity.
• Call a friend affected by heart disease whether it's a heart patient, or someone who lost a loved one to the disease. Wish them a happy heart month. They'll be flattered.
• Buy a copy of Barefoot in November or another inspiring heart book and give it to a heart patient or relative of one.
• Enter a race, triathlon, or any other event in the honor of a heart patient, or one who has passed due to the disease. Announce it to everyone, get a shirt made, and run your heart out for them. There's nothing like running for a cause, or in honor of someone.
• Buy a Heartosaurus T-shirt for you and your heart patient!
• Plan a surprise lunch, dinner, night out for beers or a movie, or anything else you can think of for a heart patient. Work around their schedule or through their family to arrange the surprise and just show up at their door and say "happy heart month, glad to still have you with us, I'm taking you out".
• Make an inspiring post on Facebook or your blog about your heart patient. "It's American heart month. I remember 7 years ago when (insert name) had open heart surgery. I remember seeing her in the hospital hooked up to the breathing machine...........(insert your story)..............................I'm so happy she is with us today. Happy heart month! (insert patient's name)" 
• Light a prayer candle in the name of a heart patient.
• Wear red on Feb. 1

Do you do anything fun, interesting, or unique during heart month? Tell us in the comments below!

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