Asking Advice in regards to Workout Programs

[SileeLamb]

I was born with congenital heart disease (my aortic valve does not close properly). I then had rheumatic fever when I was 24 which caused calcification to form in my aorta as well. Recently the diameter of the aorta where the calcification is has decreased significantly and my prognosis of having my valve replaced at 60 years of age has been moved down to when I am 50 years old. That is only 6 years form now - yikes!
My cardiologist says I can exercise but not to hard. I just want ideas of workout programs that won't cause me any heart troubles, please

 

[SumoRunner]

Yeah, same story. Rheumatic fever, damaged valve, etc. I had it replaced at 43, that's 23 years ago now. I ran about 1000 miles a years before AVR and would run maybe 10-12 races a year. I've continued at the same level since. I work out easy most of the time, always have, but when I go hard, I go hard. Last year at age 65 I ran a half marathon, did 500 pushups in one session and swam a mile. I prefer running the mile on a track though which is ultra-high intensity.

 

[dornole]

What are you doing now? Maybe your cardiologist could define what "too hard" means. For example, heart rate below a certain point? Or is he cautioning guys like SumoRunner who might be prone to going all out, and for others (like me) he just means do what feels ok and don't kill yourself?

I don't have any restrictions from my cardiologist & I am not a hard core athlete though I'm improving. I'm 47, female. What I do is lift weights in a fitness class 3 days a week ("light," lots of reps), and run intervals 3 days a week using a heart rate monitor and a program prescribed for me by a trainer based on testing of my cardiovascular fitness. The monitor and the structure of the workouts help me feel secure that I am not hurting myself. If you're not working out currently, just walking could be awesome if that doesn't make you feel terrible and short of breath. If it were me, I'd try to pin down your cardiologist on what he does and doesn't recommend so you are not afraid to exercise and get its benefits.