Guide to Heart Disease

Q. I am staying on the second floor of an old building where there is no elevator. Can I climb upstairs after my heart attack ?
A. Yes, after about two months of a heart attack you can climb up provided there is no residual complication such as cardiac failure. Try to climb somewhat slowly — but certainly not like a sick man. Whenever you feel out of breath, wait for a while before you resume a further upward climb. You need to pause only for a short time, of about two minutes, whenever you get unduly breathless. To start with, climb up once every day. After about one month, you can do the same twice a day or even thrice, if the situation so demands. The only precautions required are not to rush up like a young boy of twenty and not to climb up on a full stomach. Climbing up should be so timed that you are on an empty stomach. Climbing down the stairs is no exertion for the heart.
In case you suffer from angina while exerting, it would be better to put a pill of nitroglycerine or isosorbide in your mouth and continue sucking it while climbing up. Some elderly persons do suffer from a sudden fall in blood pressure after this pill and may complain of a fainting sensation. Should this happen, it would be safer to avoid use of this pill while in the upright posture, particularly the standing posture. In such a situation, the elderly patient with angina would require to pause for a few minutes as soon as the angina pains come on.

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