Cardiac Rehabilitation - Your Prescription to a Heart Healthy Lifestyle

PVHMC Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

“Exercise Is Medicine” is the mission statement of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This powerful statement couldn’t be more appropriate for individuals participating in a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program after heart surgery or a heart event. Cardiac rehabilitation is your prescription to healing your heart, decreasing the risk of a recurrent event, controlling symptoms and most importantly influencing patients towards a heart-healthy lifestyle.

What Is Cardiac Rehabilitation?

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is a medically supervised hospital-based program for patients who have had a myocardial infarction (heart attack), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) (stent placed in a coronary artery), Aortic Valve Replacement/Repair (AVR) or those with current stable angina pectoris (chest pain), heart failure, and those waiting for or following heart transplant surgery.

The goal of the cardiac rehab team is to offer each cardiac patient the opportunity to achieve optimal levels of health and fitness through an integrated program of exercise and education. The team of Associates at PVHMC is a multidisciplinary group of professionals including: Exercise Physiologists, Registered Nurses, Registered Dieticians, Physical Therapists, and Respiratory Therapists. With this team of experts, we can address the various risk factors of heart disease such as: hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, stress management, overweight/obesity, and smoking termination. This type of lifestyle change is the secondary prevention to Coronary Artery Disease.

Cardiac Rehab also offers the psychological support for many people who are in similar situations. In addition to creating new friendships, the patient’s confidence improves as they travel through their journey of healing.

Does Cardiac Rehabilitation Work? – ABSOLUTELY!

Listed below are just a few benefits of Cardiac Rehab:

• A 20-30% reduction in all-cause mortality rate
• Reduced symptoms (angina, dyspnea, fatigue)
• Reduction in nonfatal recurrent myocardial infarction
• Enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living
• Reduced hospitalizations and use of medical resources
• Increased ability to return to work or engage in leisure activities
• Improved social interactions
• Improved overall quality of care

Life after Cardiac Rehabilitation

The new lifestyle that one develops is something to follow for the rest of your life. The current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that each week adults should participate in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise, or a combination of both. When choosing the type of exercise for your program, your personal goal, physical ability, health status, and available equipment should be considered. Walking is one of the most common aerobic exercises; however, activities such as lap swimming, water aerobics, cycling, and dancing will all suffice.

Remember to choose an exercise that you like to do and that will keep you motivated. You’ve been given a second chance at life – live it well.

For more information about the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at PVHMC, please visit: www.pvhmc.org/#Cardiac_Rehabilitation