Was cardiac rehab helpful for you or not?
I had a STEMI with 100% LAD blockage about seven weeks ago, and today I went to the introduction for cardiac rehab, which my doctor was pushing me to do. Since this was the introduction, it was mostly about filling out paperwork, of course, but it got me thinking.
Do you other survivors feel like cardiac rehab was useful, and why or why not?
I'm 51M, and generally in excellent shape: never smoked, don't have diabetes, not overweight, went to the gym and pushed myself hard about four times a week. I felt 100% normal four weeks after my STEMI. So when I went in and they told me I was going to start with walking on a treadmill and lifting 2 lb. dumbbells - well, I'm already walking around plenty, and the first time I went back to the gym post-STEMI I started with 15 lb. dumbbells, so...
I acknowledge that a lot of my issues are probably more emotional than anything else, but is this rehab actually going to be useful? They tell me that it's good for you, so my attitude is "FINE, then I'll go waste my time at your stupid rehab", but what is the part that's really helped people?