This forum is great but it’s still probably best to work with your cardiologist to determine what’s right for you IMHO.
However I will share my thoughts and experiences. I’m 11 weeks post op for a mitral valve repair, a maze, and left atrium appendage closure. It was done open heart so odds are your recovery will be quicker than mine. But my recovery is going faster than I expected.
I was out of the hospital after 5 days and doing short walks in the neighborhood a couple of days later. I was able to get into a rehab program just 2 weeks after my surgery. It’s 3 times a week and I’ve been to 20 sessions.
I believe the 36 sessions is considered the maximum because that’s what most insurance companies will cover, or at least in my case Medicare. In my group it appears few go for the full 36 but it’s rare for anyone to do less than 12. I believe that’s because most doctors want people to do at least 12.
Case in point…my neighbor. He had open heart surgery a month before me, but wasn’t able to get into rehab for 2 months. His surgery was bypass x3. Other than the heart problem he was in good shape so after 2 months he had already done quite a bit of recovery on his own. In class he was much further along than others who were just entering the program. Enough so he felt he could do more on his own. After 10 sessions he wanted to stop but did go on to finish 12, the minimum his doctor recommended. I’ve talked to him since and he said that as much as he thought he’d do the exercises at home, the class was better. He regretted stopping early. He also missed out on having a session with a nutritionist and other educational talks.
Which brings me to the parts other than exercise as part of rehab. Education. I’ve received considerable information about nutrition, the heart, its reapair, appropriate exercises, and what the meds I’m taking are doing. Plus there is a social side to it. It's great to meet people who are going though something similar.
During our sessions we wear 3 wire monitors. The therapists keep a close eye on the readouts during our exercise and recovery periods. They also check our O2 levels before and during exercise.
In my opinion it’s best to get rehab as soon as possible so you can be monitored while starting your recovery. My therapists take an active role when they see any problems whether it’s with the ecg, how you’re feeling or with the meds. I’ve seen them call people’s GPs, cardiologists, and pharmacists to help straighten things out.
For home I’d suggest having a pulse oximeter, a good blood pressure monitor and also some light barbells or resistance bands. For me my Apple watch is great for tracking my pulse rate. Actually it’s how things started for me. It reported Afib even though I had zero symptoms. It’s such a relief to have the watch no longer detecting Afib .
Bottom line…rehab might interfere with this holiday season but it might just help insure there are more holiday seasons in the future.
Take care.
