Pumping Marvellous

Puffed but good fun

Last night I started the first of my12 sessions with Beth Barron and her team at the Spirit of Sport centre in Burnley which is a fantastic building and is as well equipped as most private gyms. Anyway Beth is a Cardiac Rehabilitation Practitioner and she is super focussed and enthusiastic about the beneficial impact the right exercise can have on cardiac patients.

I walked away threatening to slate the programme, only kidding Beth, let me tell you it is a fantastic programme and is a great follow up to the initial cardiac rehabilitation programme. The instructors are in tune with you and the exercise level is built up over the 12 weeks. I didn’t like the look of the circuit training going on in the main gymnasium however, I don’t think I could have done it before my heart failure never mind after it. Well done Beth and team what a great programme.

This is where Beth is best. It is Burnley’s very own state of the art leisure and health centre. St Peter’s Leisure Centre.

Heart Failure and Wii Fit

I have taken the plunge and have used some of our long overdue Amex points to secure and become part of the Wii revolution. If anybody who knows me really well they will know I hate Gyms, in the past they have been a complete waste of money as all I do is get bored and I mean get really bored. So we have invested in a Wii Fit Plus

Now excuse me, but I don’t want to be seen like the “Redknapps” in their TV commercials – you will only know this if you are from the UK as they are a famous footballing family. However it does lots of things that are really beneficial to my condition.

At the moment my exercise regime / war of attrition consists of 3X10 mins sessions with 5 min warm up before starting per day. One session is based on cardio, the other stamina and the last strength. These sessions are broadly based on the cardio rehab programme I have just completed. These are in the morning, when I get home from work and before I go to bed. The challenge will be on how to incorporate the Wii. What is good about the Wii Fit is that before you start it asks you for your measurements and it also weighs you. This is very helpful as if you have heart failure weighing yourself everyday is very important, so why not have some fun whilst doing it.

All in all I am looking forward to utilising the Wii Fit Plus and as Jemma said who is a physiotherapist in the East Lancs PCT – “The Wii has and will continue to revolutionise exercise, you bring the gym to your front room”

Cardiac Rehabilitation

You maybe saying why are you at Cardio Rehabilitation which is not for Heart Failure; the truth is that my PCT the East Lancs PCT doesn’t offer Heart Failure Rehabilitation at the moment. From what I can gather they are redesigning the course and there is a change in cost centre etc etc and that is why there hasn’t been one for 6 months. With the emphasis now going on the General Practitioner I would be surprised if it happens at all. I find it very poor that something so simple but so effective becomes so complicated to set up and I realise how very lucky I was to attend the Cardiac Rehab course and lets remember these are my opinions as the editor of pumping marvellous.

Anyway My friend Angela Spencer who is responsible for Cardiac Rehabilitation at Burnley hospital ask me to post this text below as she gave it to me at my last class and said post it on “Pumping Marvellous”. Angela is a valued contributor to Pumping Marvellous.

The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease recommended that Primary Care Trusts should put into place a framework of care so that prior to leaving hospital, people admitted to hospital with CHD have been invited to participate in a multi-disciplinary programme of secondary prevention and cardiac rehabilitation. The aim of the programme will be to reduce their risk of subsequent cardiac problems and promote their return to a full and normal life.

Cardiac rehab has been shown to improve prognosis and function with many people with CHD. Evidence suggests that when cardiac rehab is provided by well trained staff and people are offered comprehensive and tailored help with lifestyle modification including education and psychological input as well as exercise training,cardiac rehabilitation can reduce mortality by as much as 20-25% over a 3 years period.

Have a look at this quote from Professor Lewin of the European Society of Cardiology.

“If there was a pill that cost very little, reduced cardiac deaths by 27%, improved quality of life and reduced anxiety and depression, every patient in Europe would be expected to take it! There is no such pill but taking part in Cardiac Rehabilitation programmes can provide all of these benefits. In the UK only a small number of these in need are offered the chance to take part”

So I hope you read and digest this. I would strongly suggest that if you have not had the opportunity to go on the programme scream and shout until you get the opportunity – but do with little stress