Cardiac Rehabilitation: Supporting Barry's journey from heart surgery to parkrun
06 February 2025
Just four months ago, Barry underwent emergency heart bypass surgery at the University Hospital of Wales after experiencing sudden pains in his arm. Last Saturday 1st February, in a fitting start to Heart Month, Barry crossed the finish line of his first parkrun in an impressive 51 minutes and 39 seconds, supported by the Cardiac Rehabilitation team.
Barry was supported and accompanied every step of the 5km parkrun by Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinical Nurse Specialists Angie Melvin and Leanne Hughes, along with Leanne’s daughter Grace.
As part of his recovery, Barry recently completed the Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme - an individualised plan of exercise, education, and psychological support. Led by a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists, the programme aims to improve the health and wellbeing of those recovering from a cardiac event, empowering them to return to living life as fully as possible.
Angie said: “Barry was keen to continue exercising when his Cardiac Rehabilitation programme finished and do a parkrun. His commitment to get well and return to previous hobbies so soon after having surgery exceeded our expectations.”
A key technique Barry learned through the programme was how to stay in a safe training zone. During the parkrun his fit-watch alerted him whenever his heart rate hit 140bpm, signalling to Barry, Angie, Leanne and Grace to switch from running to walking.
Hannah Davies, Physiotherapist within the Cardiac Rehabilitation team said: “It was a proud moment to hear that he utilised all the skills of self-pacing, using heart rate and perceived effort, learnt during his Cardiac Rehabilitation to help him complete the course in an incredible time.”
The British Heart Foundation is currently running a pilot study in collaboration with the Cardiac Rehabilitation team, to encourage those who have gone through the programme to stay active with parkrun. These free, community events offer a safe and supportive environment to maintain regular exercise.
Hannah said: “The pilot study raises awareness of local parkruns, and the benefits and importance of continuing Cardiac Rehabilitation and a healthy lifestyle after discharge. There have always been issues with a drop off in patients continuing to exercise after the programme, one of these being cost. As parkrun is free we thought it was a good option to offer to our patients.
“The goal is to highlight that parkrun is a safe environment for patients to engage in physical activity and exercise following their cardiac event. With the promotion of '5k your way', they can walk, jog, or run as they feel able, and we can help them build up to this during their Cardiac Rehabilitation. With the support from BHF, the parkrun organisers and medical team, patients can feel confident that they'll be well looked after.”
This Saturday, Barry aims to do the Llanishen Parkrun again, this time to celebrate his 70th birthday, alongside other members of the team including Cardiac Rehab CNS Sophie Openshaw, Rachel Morgan and Ceri Meredith.
Main photo (L-R): Barry, Angie, Leanne and Grace