Approximately 2 months ago my 78 friend had a
stentAbdomen - swollen
Brain herniation
Chronic persistent hepatitis
Coronary artery stent
Hyperemesis gravidarum
Lyme disease - chronic persistent
Stent inserted after having suffered an MI, with subsequent restarting of his heart
twiceTwice-a-day. He spent 5 weeks in the hospital and 7 weeks at home. He was told to take a stress test so he could begin Phase 2
cardiacCardiac catheterization
Cardiac tamponade
Left heart ventricular angiography rehab. His stress test lasted 2 1/2 minutes because his legs gave out. He has made an appointment to start phast 2, but now hewants totake a
vacationVacation health care to Hawaii (9 hours by plane). Is
travelTravel sickness for this length of period
safeSafe driving for teens
Safe sex ? He asked his cardiologist, but did not receive a reply.
Dear Marcy
Your friend's performance on the stress test was extremely poor. It suggests that he is severely deconditioned (out of shape). I would recommend further cardiac rehabilitation in a supervised setting before the sort of vacation that you are talking about. It is not so much the flight that worries me, as it is his stress test performance - being able to last only 2 minutes on a treadmill after a heart attack puts him at very high risk of future cardiac problems.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.