How One Heart Attack Survivor Safely Exercises

People with diabetes are at high risk of heart disease (more than 75% die of stroke or heart attack).

It can be a bit scary to exercise if you have heart disease or have had a heart attack, but with the proper monitoring, it can be done. Exercise can lower your blood sugar, strengthen heart muscle, lower your blood pressure, and create a sense of well-being—all factors that can help you avoid future problems.

Nancy Kirk, 60, a public relations consultant in Omaha, Neb., was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2001, had a heart attack in 2005, and underwent bypass surgery a year later.

Working out at a cardiac rehabilitation center
Kirk started exercising in the cardiac rehabilitation program at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha after the heart attack and then continued for 15 months until the bypass surgery. She started up again after the bypass surgery as soon as she had her surgeon's approval.

"In the beginning of each sequence I was on a heart monitor for six weeks whenever I exercised, which gave me some confidence that I wouldn't overdo it," says Kirk.

Kirk says that at first she didn't understand why she was supposed to exercise to raise her heart rate when they "had me on heavy meds to reduce my heart rate and blood pressure. It was very counterintuitive."

The nurses explained that with exercise, her muscles would become more efficient at using oxygen and it actually would result in less work for the heart. "So I kept going," she said.