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Originally Posted by The Yugoslavian
Ask the GP. Ask the current cardiologist. Call around.
Call around is my favorite. I can just imagine this guy calling cardiologists offices "Hi, I'd like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Smith, but before I do, I need to know one thing: does he even lift."
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I mean, they don't have to lift I guess but at least where you can be confident that the recommendation not to lift isn't complete BS, which OP obviously assumes as he wants to ignore the advice.
I agree with this. Getting a second opinion is a good idea. The idea that the cardiologist needs to lift himself is a bit silly. I would also ask current doc and second opinion doc to explain to you why exactly lifting is bad but cardio is OK. It does seem a little odd. The explanation will also help you have a far better grasp of what you should and should not do.
It also seems a little weird that a BW pullup is OK but a 30 lb dumbell row is not because it exceeds the 20 lb limit.
If you're going to get a second opinion, I think another good place to look would be to find a sports medicine specialist. Not the orthopedic kind. These folks have normally done training in family medicine (or something similar that is pretty general) and then additional training in sports related problems. So they would have a reasonably good handle on both heart conditions and lifting. If nothing else, they could take the cardiologist's warning and translate it into actual exercises you can and cannot do.