Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Getting past the bypass

Hello Whitney Friends,

Last summer, my son and I made two treks up Whitney. We were turned back by weather at Trail Crest in July, but we managed to reach the summit in August.
A couple of weeks ago, I had triple bypass surgery. Obviously, I am grateful that I did not ignore my symptoms (moderate chest pain) and that I did not have an actual heart attack.
But being only 48, and obviously in good physical condition, I'm still in a little bit of shock!
The doctors say I can resume hiking/climbing after a sufficient recovery period, but I could sure use a "pick-me-up" story from someone who has this type of surgery and climbed another day.
Thanks ... and hope to see you up there.

Potamus

We reached the summit near the end of August this year. A person from a group we met on the summit had similiar surgery about a year before the hike. He looked and felt great. He took off his shirt so the scar was visible and his partners took pictures of him on the summit.

Do your rehab faithfully and we'll see you on the summit in 2007.

Pot, I had a bypass in 2001, at age...well, suffice it to say that Medicare paid most of the bill. I had been puzzled and frustrated by a serious lack of energy for several months, along with some chest discomfort, and when I finally went in it was discovered that I had suffered a "silent" heart attack. "Silent" means I didn't know it at the time. Complete blockage of the right coronary artery: My motor had been limping along with one cylinder out of commission.

Mine was a single bypass and not a triple, but there were some complications from the surgery that set me back considerably. Two weeks later it seemed it was taking all morning to walk to the mailbox and back. Nevertheless, at the six week point I was back doing easy day climbs, and at the 13 week point I climbed Mt. Pickering. It's an elevation gain of 6700', 23 miles round trip, so equivalent to Whitney.

At 16 weeks I managed an overnight of the Mountaineer's Route. A week and a half later--four months and a day after my surgery--a dayclimb via the main trail (9:10 up).

Hey, it's only a rearrangement of some plumbing!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockwellb/1304011612/in/set-72157600224444150

Potamus...I don't have any stories, but from the look of Bob R's picture, become the inspiration like Bob R.

We want to hear news of you on the summit, Potamus!

Potamus:
Investing in a traning heart rate monitor can help tremendously both with your cardiac rehab and beyond once you start training at elevation again. I actually use the Garmin Forerunner 301 (the predecessor to the current 305, which is a bit more watch-sized), which I have found extremely helpful in my own training. Now, I haven't required any sort of heart surgery myself, but being a physical therapist, I've used it quite a bit with my patients who have cardiac restrictions and are on the mend. Most cardio machines are actually programmed to respond to the Polar models of HR monitor as well (I have one of those, too, for the gym), and I find that much more accurate than the hand-hold grips on most of the machines.

Your cardiac MD should prescribe a particular zone in which you can train at various times of your recovery, and, and the other major recommendation is to monitor your symptoms closely as you increase the intensity of your workouts. As BobR showed, you don't always have to feel a thing for something to be going (or not going!) on. It may feel like nothing at first, but like every other muscle in your body, the heart needs to be trained.

Good luck, and hope to hear of many exciting adventures in the New Year!

-Laura

BTW: This JUST popped up on Steep and Cheap:
http://www.steepandcheap.com/steepcheap/index.html?CMP=OTC%2dRSS&mv_pc=r104&ATT=DesktopAlert
Of course, I don't know how long it'll last!!
-L

Thanks for the great information and support, everyone! I appreciate. See you up on top!

A few years ago a group of older friends, all in their late 60s, made it to the top of Kilimanjaro. One fellow not only had a by-pass but also a knee replacement. He's in his 70s now and still hikes regularly.

Another hiking friend, who is 81, finally had to limit his hikes to five miles and he had two (and possibly three) by-pass operations over the years.

Stay away from those cheeseburgers and frys and you'll be fine.

"Stay away from those cheeseburgers and frys and you'll be fine."

I wish it was as simple as that euphemism.

There are plenty of people with "good" diets who get coronary disease, colon cancer, or whatever. Lots of familial/genetic/age/other metabolic parameters and predispositions that may outweigh even the best diet. What we are is not just what we eat.

PS great picture, Bob R ! Harvey

For the record, the celebratory hamburger I had in August at the Portal Store was the first one I've had in about 20 years. I work out five days a week and generally have a good diet. Stress may have been somewhat of a factor, but I think it boils down to genetics.
Most folks I see on the trail appear to be in very good condition. As a by-product of this, we know our bodies well.
My grateful lesson from this is that I listened to my body. When it said, "You have chest pain," I didn't answer, "Yeah, but I'm in great shape and I'm too young to have a heart attack." My decision to see a doctor may well have saved my life.
As is the case on the trail, it's important to listen to the "signals." That way, we can catch a problem early enough for it to be manageable.

Potamus

Hi BobR,

Maybe you can answer this question. The heart thing and cardiovalcular disease is of great interest to me since my father died of it at 58. I'm 35 and I routinely tease my wife by telling her I'm past my midlife crisis date. On my dad's side of the family there seems to be a predisposition to hypertension and high cholesterol. In my case the hypertension is borderline and the cholesterol is a little high. When I'm in better shape and 20 pounds lighter the hypertension is gone and the cholesterol is lower. What I'm wondering is that at my peak fitness I'm climbing mountains at about half the speed in which you did when you were my age. I'm surprised that anyone with your level of fitness could have ever developed heart disease. Did the doctors say if it was diet or heredetary or something else? I hope I can hike when I'm in my sixties! Both my folks cashed in their chips at 58, If i'm still on this side of the grass by then, let alone hiking it will be a great surprise. After hiking with you last January and Al Green this summer I came to the conclusion that old is not a number but a state of mind and a state of surrender.

Rafael...

Without getting into anyone's personal history, it should be noted (and is often not), that there are five major recognized risk factors for a heart attack:

family history
smoking
diabetes
high blood pressure
high cholesterol

If a person has ANY of these, they have an elevated risk. But what does that mean? Elevated above what?

About 50% of all Americans die of heart disease.
So the average person's risk is about that. If you have increased risk, it is HIGHER than that.

Also of note, about 1/2 of Americans that present to an ER having a heart attack have NONE of the 5 risk factors.

This is why heart disease is such a big deal.

The model that I envision, is damage to the lining of the blood vessels, which is progressive. Sort of like wear on a car tire. If something is out of whack, (like elevated BP), the damage (wear) progresses more rapidly.
Eventually, the damage is significant enough to encourage a blood clot to form on the vessel....if it breaks off, and lodges in the heart...that's a heart attack.

All of the above is simplified, and rounds things off and ignores a number of smaller factors, but it gives an idea of what it going on, for what it is worth.

Potamus (and Rafael also)
Not to overdramatize the obvious, and the understandable concern you have about your cardiac recovery, after making a summit in 2005 I remarked here

"For about six weeks following my 1992 quadruple bypass, I began to regard myself (and my "condition") as too fragile to become involved in almost anything strenuos that life offered. I decided that was an unacceptable way to regard my post-life-saving-life-changing event, and resolved to take the best care of myself I possibly could and do as much as I felt I wanted. I became proactive in my physical rebirth, did all the fun runs, 10K's, 25K's, and as much outdoors stuff as possible. I walk and carry my golf clubs whenever possible. Summiting Mt. Whitney was another reaffirmation of my "new" life - one I share with BobR and many others."

Of the five chambers in the cardiac pistol (heredity, diet, exercise, smoking and stress) that stress bullet is the difficult one to quantify and, for some, to do anything about. While it's impossible to change inherited genes and a susceptibiliy to heart disease, giving yourself the freedom to take care of yourself first, and job and everything else second, and not be so concerned with what others may think of you or your new priorities, is a tough step. As a solo practice attorney who had too often heaped others woes on himself and sought to solve their problems, for the past fourteen years now I've had the good sense to realize my health and well being rightfully come first. As a consequence, I now keep "irrgeular" (judged by the rest of the work-a-day world) hours which work well for me and allow me to workout in the mornings, eat moderate and balanced meals, and still achieve work results for clients. It means doing all those things you still love and keeping perspective. Perhaps like you, following my surgery I became attitudinally down and felt like I'd never be active again, as though I could have somehow averted what had afflicted me. To his credit, my cardiologist told me it was going to happen to me in any event, due largely to heredity and how I chose to respond afterwards would determine the years to follow. Since 1992 I've done all the great outdoor things I cherish, and look forward to many more places (Kings Peak, UT next August - you listening BruinDave? Gary?) to challenge me.
You will do fine post-operatively because you have the right attitude and know your body and have already listened to it and saved your own life. Continued activity, for as long as you like it and are physically able, will only contribute to your longevity and enjoyment of life. Onward!
Brickie

Brickie,

I haven't checked the website
for a few days, so I didn't read
your post until today.
I can't thank you enough.
Your words inspire me greatly.
See you up there.

Pot