What to Expect After a Heart Attack

Quick summary

When a parent suffers a heart attack, it can turn his -- and your -- world upside down. Although a heart attack always presents challenges, keep in mind that every heart attack is different. Symptoms vary, causes differ, and treatment depends on many factors. There's no set timeline for recovery, and your parent may experience all, some, or none of the following issues.

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Physical issues

Weakness, fatigue, and shortness of breath

What you can expect:

Nearly all patients recovering from a heart attack will experience these symptoms.

What you can do:

• As soon as you get the doctor's OK, encourage your parent to get moving. Just getting out of bed, taking a shower, and dressing may be exhausting at first. In the first week, your parent should begin walking five minutes, five times a day. Although this won't seem like much activity to you, it may be very difficult for your parent. Acknowledge that he's having a hard time while encouraging him to continue. After a few days, you should notice a significant reduction in fatigue and shortness of breath.

• Be patient and encourage your parent to do the same. He's just been through a major ordeal and you should both expect his recovery to take time.

• Within a few weeks, your parent should be able to begin a modified exercise program. If he has always been fairly sedentary, he may resist this idea. You might motivate him to exercise by helping him set specific, realistic goals; exercising with him; keeping a journal of his progress; getting him moving first thing in the morning; and helping him find exercises he likes to do.

• Recognize that it's not all up to you. You can encourage your parent to exercise, but ultimately he'll have to decide he wants to do it.

Leg swelling

What you can expect:

Leg swelling is very common, especially after bypass surgery. If the surgeon removed veins from your parent's legs for use as bypass grafts, fluid may accumulate in his ankles and lower legs. The swelling can be very uncomfortable and even painful.

What you can do:

• While your parent is resting on the bed or couch, place several pillows under his legs to elevate his feet higher than his heart. Do this for an hour at a time, at least three times a day.

• Encourage your parent to walk as much as he can. Even short jaunts around the house or yard can promote circulation.

• Support stockings can minimize swelling. You can buy these at any medical supply store and at some drugstores.

• If your parent's leg swelling worsens significantly, notify his doctor immediately. Fluid buildup in the lower extremities is also a symptom of heart failure.

Abnormal heart rhythms and palpitations

What you can expect:

After a heart attack, your parent may develop a slow or abnormal heart rhythm, or he may be at risk for developing one. The abnormal heart rate may improve as the heart muscle heals, or it may be permanent.

What you can do:

• Palpitations are the most common symptom of arrhythmia. If your parent is experiencing palpitations, notify his doctor immediately in case treatment is necessary.

• Try not to panic. Palpitations can result from too much caffeine, tobacco, and even some over-the-counter medications such as cold and cough remedies. Stress can also be a culprit -- and your parent has been through an extremely stressful experience.

• Learn CPR. Some arrhythmias show up as cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly stops pumping. By promptly applying CPR, you can keep your parent alive until an emergency medical team arrives. Courses in CPR are available in virtually every city in the United States. Ask your parent's doctor or nurses for information, or contact a local branch of the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.

Congestive heart failure

What you can expect:

In some cases, a heart attack may damage the heart muscle so much that it can't fully recover. If your parent's heart can no longer adequately pump blood, he may experience shortness of breath, edema (buildup of fluids), and coughing. In some cases, heart failure can improve as the heart muscle heals, but more often the condition is permanent.

What you can do:

• Don't panic. Although the term "heart failure" may sound like a death sentence, what it means is that the heart isn't pumping efficiently enough to keep up with the body's needs. But with the proper treatment and lifestyle changes, people with heart failure can lead relatively active lives for many years.

• Talk to the doctor about lifestyle changes. Your parent will need to limit his intake of salt, fluids, and alcohol; exercise lightly; and quit smoking.

• Talk to the doctor about medications. Several drugs are useful in treating heart failure. Among other medications, the doctor may prescribe diuretics and/or aldosterone blockers to reduce fluid buildup, digitalis to help the heart contract more vigorously, or ACE inhibitors to make it easier for the heart to pump.

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Emotional issues

Anger and anxiety

What you can expect:

It's normal to feel angry and fearful after a heart attack. Your parent may be frustrated that he can no longer perform tasks that were once easy for him. He may feel anxious and worried that he'll have another heart attack. He may also feel depressed.

What you can do:

• Let your parent talk about his fears. Don't brush off his concerns; keeping his feelings bottled up will make him feel worse. If it's difficult for you to listen to his worries, help him find a support group or an online community.

• Encourage your parent to keep a journal. Sometimes just writing about negative feelings can defuse them.

• Remind your parent -- and yourself -- that his anger and anxiety are most likely temporary. As recovery progresses, he's likely to feel more like himself again.

• Encourage your parent to get back into a normal routine as soon as possible. Dressing first thing in the morning, getting out of the house and walking, and resuming favorite hobbies and social activities are all excellent strategies for relieving fear and anxiety.

• If your parent's anger and anxiety persist for more than four weeks, talk to his doctor. The doctor can arrange for counseling or antidepressant treatment.

Depression

What you can expect:

Depression is one of the most common emotions to affect people who have had a heart attack -- even if they've never been depressed before. One out of three patients reports feeling anxious or depressed after a heart attack or heart surgery. Sometimes it takes time for symptoms of depression to appear; it may be a while before the implications of your parent's heart attack really sink in. He may feel his life is over or will never be the same, or he may feel the recovery process is taking too long.

What you can do:

• Watch for these common warning signs of depression: frequent crying episodes; feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness; poor appetite or increased appetite; sleeping too much or not enough; increased agitation and restlessness; loss of interest in life; expressing thoughts of dying or suicide.

• Notify the doctor if you believe your parent is depressed, as it's a serious problem that requires evaluation and treatment.

• Help your parent be as physically active as possible. Talk to the doctor and rehabilitation team about what exercises are appropriate.

• Structure the day around activities that give your parent pleasure and a sense of purpose. For example, meet friends for lunch or enjoy a leisurely walk through the mall.

• Try to stay positive and upbeat, but don't foster unrealistic expectations. Instead of saying, "You'll be hiking again in no time," you might say, "If we keep walking together every day, you'll notice that it gets a lot easier."

Decreased mental function

What you can expect:

After a heart attack, your parent may not seem as mentally sharp as he once was. Heart attack can seriously stress the entire body, including the brain. Bypass surgery has also been associated with cognitive decline, although recent studies have called this finding into question.

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What you can do:

• Give your parent time to recover. The changes in your parent's mental function are most likely temporary. Don't expect him to perform mentally stressful tasks, such as balancing a checkbook, in the first weeks of recovery.

• Talk to the doctor. Some medications, including beta-blockers, can decrease mental function. Your parent's doctor may be able to prescribe another medication.

Sleep problems

What you can expect:

Sleep problems are common during recovery from heart attack. Your parent may experience insomnia or fragmented sleep because of discomfort, stress, and a change in routine. But rest is an essential part of recovery, so the more you can help your parent get a good night's sleep, the better.

What you can do:

• Minimize pain and discomfort at night. Arrange pillows to help your parent find the most comfortable sleeping position. Ask the doctor if your parent can take analgesics such as aspirin or ibuprofen 30 minutes before bedtime.

• Keep your parent busy to prevent his napping too much during the day, but try not to let him get overtired.

• Eliminate caffeine in the late afternoon and evening.

• Play relaxing music.