Full Transcript for 1. Heart Attack Recovery Starts Here: How to Feel Safe in Your Body Again

WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.600 Episode 1. 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:04.959 If you're listening today, it means you survived. 00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:08.240 Take a slow deep breath with me. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:14.800 Just for this moment, there's nowhere else you need to be. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.920 Welcome to Thrive After a Heart Attack. 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:23.600 I'm your host, Luiza Holtzberg, and I am so grateful you're here. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:34.000 If you're listening today, it's likely because you or someone you love has experienced a heart attack or another cardiac event. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.640 First, I want to say this. 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.439 I'm so glad you're still here. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.759 And I also want you to know this. 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:43.439 I see you. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:48.159 I know that life after heart attack isn't always what people expect. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.079 Yes, you've survived, but that doesn't necessarily mean you feel like yourself again. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:01:00.479 Maybe you've become hyper aware of every sensation in your chest. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:08.879 Maybe your heart skips a beat and your mind immediately wonders is it happening again? 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:16.079 Maybe you used to enjoy walking around the neighborhood, but now you're afraid to push yourself physically. 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:22.319 Maybe you avoid being alone because it feels safer to have somebody nearby. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:34.959 Or maybe everyone around you keeps saying You're doing great while inside you feel scared, uncertain, and exhausted. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:39.760 If any of that sounds familiar, I want you to know something. 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:41.439 You're not alone. 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:45.760 And more importantly, there's nothing wrong with you. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:02:07.519 This podcast is a place where you'll learn how to feel safe in your body again so you can make the lifestyle changes that allow you to be there for what matters most your families, your career, your grandkids, and all the beautiful moments still waiting for you. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.800 This work is deeply personal to me. 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:16.319 When I was just five years old, I lost my grandfather to a heart attack. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:21.280 Because of that loss, I never really had the chance to know him. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:29.919 As I've gotten older, I've realized that heart disease isn't only about blocked arteries or cholesterol numbers. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:31.280 It's about time. 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:42.719 It's about birthdays, family dinners, graduations, holding your grandchildren, growing old with the people you love. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:47.360 Those are the moments my grandfather never got to experience. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:51.120 Somewhere along the way I realized something. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:03:10.960 I can't change what happened to my grandfather, but perhaps I can help someone else's grandfather, someone else's mother, someone else's spouse, or maybe even you have more time to enjoy the people and moments that matter most. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.080 That became my mission. 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:24.400 That mission led me to graduate school to study exercise physiology and eventually into the world of cardiac rehabilitation. 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:35.919 For more than a decade I had the privilege of working alongside heart attack survivors and people with heart disease as they rebuilt their physical strength. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:38.800 I watched people become stronger. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.520 I watched them gain endurance. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:45.360 I watched them learn how to exercise safely again. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:50.080 But I also noticed something that often wasn't being talked about. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:56.960 Many people were healing physically while still feeling terrified emotionally. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:03.919 They were going home with medications, exercise plans, and nutrition advice. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:15.599 But nobody was really helping them navigate the fear, the anxiety, the racing thoughts, the constant what if it happens again? 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:28.879 As a National Board certified health and wellness coach, certified medical exercise specialist, and heart math coach and trainer, I've come to believe that recovery isn't only physical. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:38.000 It's emotional, it's mental, it's neurological, and those pieces deserve just as much attention. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.560 Here's something I wish every heart attack survivor was told. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:46.079 A heart attack isn't only a medical event. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.800 It's also a traumatic event. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:52.800 Your brain's number one job is to keep you alive. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:59.839 After experiencing something life threatening, your nervous system naturally becomes more alert. 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.560 It starts scanning for danger. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.680 Every heartbeat feels more noticeable. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.720 Every ache or pain gets your attention. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:13.439 Your brain is trying to answer one question over and over. 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:15.519 Am I safe? 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:26.879 If you've experienced anxiety, if you're checking your pulse, if you're worried every time your heart feels different, that doesn't mean you're weak. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.399 It doesn't mean you're failing at recovery. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:34.480 It means your nervous system is trying to protect you. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:44.480 The beautiful thing is this just as your body can heal physically, your nervous system can learn safety again. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:47.759 You can rebuild confidence. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.879 You can learn to trust your body again. 00:05:50.879 -->