Heart Attack : How will the disease affect the patient and his/her life-style?

In the acute phase, when the patient is hospitalised, the patient is advised to limit his/her movements and physical activity. In stable patients physical activity is progressively advanced and by the third day they can move about their room. When the person is discharged from the hospital, he is advised to walk 2-3 times daily for 20-30 minutes as long as their pulse is maintained within 20 beats per minute of their standing heart rate. The patient also needs to modify diet and lifestyle and join a cardiac rehabilitation program that will educate him/her on the ways and means to limit the progression of the disease.

In long standing cases of heart disease with a history of heart attack the lifestyle of the patient gets restricted in-terms of diet, exercise, mobility, etc. especially if heart failure sets in. Additionally, the patient has to continuously visit the hospital and has often a long list of medicines to take. In some cases there is need for cardiac surgery (bypass surgery) which has its own set of factors that influence his/her lifestyle. In some cases there is a need to change the occupation to suit the condition of the heart.