CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM

After a patient experiences a heart attack or angina (chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow to an area of the heart) or undergoes heart surgery such as coronary bypass, his or her doctor usually prescribes a program of cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehab, as it’s often called, is designed to help the patient recover and function at an optimal level. That involves a lot more than just working out.

Assessment

The first phase of cardiac rehab begins in the hospital, where the medical team assesses the patient’s ability to move around and may ask him or her to perform minimal activities, such as walking down the hall, before being discharged.

The CRMC Wellness Center

The second and third phases are performed in the large, fully-equipped CRMC Wellness Center, where each patient’s cardiac rehab program is customized by an exercise physiologist and registered nurse. These specially trained professionals work with patients in the Wellness Center, monitoring their physiological response and levels of improvement. As the weeks go by, the prescribed exercise may go up in intensity, depending on the patient’s condition and abilities. Patients gradually begin to monitor their own activities.

Lifestyle Changes

In the fourth phase, patients continue to come to the Wellness Center but also focus on permanent lifestyle changes such as exercise and diet.

Resources:

For information on Cardiac Rehabilitation at the CRMC Wellness Center (or on the Center’s programs designed to prevent heart disease), call 912.383.6988.