Recovering from a heart attack may take two or three months. You may only be in the hospital for a week, perhaps even less, but it may take a while before you can return to all the activities you were involved with before your attack.
Many hospitals and other medical facilities will provide rehabilitation programs to help educate you on steps you need to take in recovering from your heart attack. The chances of a future attack for some are lessened by a third by implanting a pager-sized defibrillator which will check for abnormal beats and zap the heart back to normal if necessary. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has had just such a defibrillator in him.
The cardiac rehabilitation programs provide exercise programs to many heart attack victims to aid in recovery and prevent future attacks. The programs will also show you how to lessen the stress in your life, teach you how to recognize if you might need further treatments, the proper diet for you, about sexual activity, and additional issues a heart attack victim might face. Such programs may also give you the chance to talk about with other heart attack victims about what you are feeling and how your life has been affected.
All of these issues will be important in your recovering from a heart attack. How long your personal recovery will take will depend on what your daily activities were previously, how severe your attack was, and how your body has responded. Keeping stress out of your life will quicken the pace of your recovery from the heart attack. Avoiding extremely hot or cold temperatures will hasten your recovery as well.
Doctors say heart attack victims need to take a look at their lives. Of course, smokers should quit smoking. It is important to begin an exercise program recommended by your doctor. You may have to make changes to your diet. Some people may even need to consider whether they need to make changes in their jobs. You will need to take all medications you doctor has recommended at the prescribed times. If changes are not made, there will be a greater chance of a future attack.
Additional procedures may be necessary to avoid future attacks. These can include additional medications you are not yet taking, bypass surgery, and percutaneous coronary interventions.
The use of a defibrillator may also lessen your chances of another heart attack. While 250,000 people have a heart attack annually while not in a hospital, and more than 90 percent of such people die, a defibrillator may prevent many such deaths. Some doctors estimate two to three million people could be helped by a defibrillator.
While a defibrillator may cost $20,000, and the total cost of a night’s hospital stay, surgery to install the device, and receiving a defibrillator can cost $40,000 to $60,000, higher demand could drive costs down.
The good news is, if you have had a heart attack, there are things that can be done to prevent another one.