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Medication Management in heart attack patients

A few tips to consider when starting an exercise routine after your heart attack


Medication Management in heart attack patients can be crucial when it comes to working with an exercise routine.

Remember that tips here do not trump your doctor's care over you. If you have any questions about starting an exercise routine please download the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire. This will give you some guidelines to follow to start out with.

Medication Management and Heart Attack Fitness

Medication management in heart attack patients is mostly concentrated on reducing the severity of the disease, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure.

Radical Cures Do Exist! But they require radical lifestyle changes!



When patients face a high to moderate risk, a decrease in mortality may come from surgical procedures including artery bypass graft surgery.

Surgery is invasive, yet necessary for some. However, we always seek to target risk factors by focusing on:

  • quitting smoking

  • saturated fat reduction in the diet

  • lowering blood pressure

  • exercise - surprise surprise!

  • effective drug therapy

Interventions listed above have proven to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality consistently by 20-25%. A selective and highly customized program designed by a team of health care providers can further enhance a lowered risk of cardiovascular events when implemented.

Many patients one or more medications after an acute MI. These include but are not limited to:

  • beta blockers
  • platelet inhibitors
  • vasodialators
  • lipid altering drugs
  • anti-ischemic drugs
  • nitroglycerin
  • heart failure treatment drugs
  • antiarrhythmic drugs

There are many other medications and new ones come out every year. It is important to remember that medication management in heart attack patients is crucial as many of these medications may influence who the heart and body system respond to exercise testing and training.

A few things to consider in medication management in heart attack patients are:

  • diuretics may have an effect on heart beat
  • beta blockers decrease submax and max heart rate and sometimes exercise capacity, may prevent or delay signs and symptoms of heart muscle ischemia and increase exercise tolerance in patients who have chest pain brought on by exertion

  • vasodialators can cause hypotensive episodes in the period after exercise unless a long cool down is done

  • calcium channel blockers may decrease resting and exercise heart rate

  • central nervouse system-active drugs can cause hypotension, dizziness and syncope

  • alpha receptor blockers lower both aspects of blood pressure

  • antiarrhythmic agents can cause false negative and false positive test results

  • digitalis can vary ST segment depression and should be monitored

  • As always, proceed with the advice and care of your physician.

    More about Heart Attacks

    Effects of Exercise Training

    Exercise and Heart Attacks

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