Cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation is for people who have had a heart attack, angina (chest pain), coronary artery bypass surgery, congestive heart failure, a heart transplant, valve replacement or angioplasty.

In addition to rehabilitation, our cardiac stress testing services support effective diagnosis and treatment.

Our cardiac rehab experts look at each person’s health risks as we personalize a plan to help prevent future problems. A main part of this plan is reconditioning the heart through an exercise program and heart health education.

Phase 1 cardiac rehabilitation

Phase one begins in the hospital when you are recovering from a heart attack, angina (chest pain) or heart surgery.

Phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation

Phase two generally lasts four to 12 weeks after you leave the hospital. This program combines medical supervision with EKG heart monitoring as you exercise in our dedicated outpatient cardiac rehabilitation exercise unit located on the first floor of the hospital.

Our registered cardiac rehab nurses work with each participant to achieve these goals:

• Safely increase heart efficiency and physical work capacity.
• Reduce risk for recurrence of symptoms.
• Cope with lifestyle changes and stress.
• Educate participants about heart health.

The phase 2 program also includes comprehensive education on topics like these:

• How the heart works
• Effects and benefits of exercise
• How hard should I exercise?
• Heart attack versus chest pain
• Nutrition
• Sexual activity
• Smoking
• Alcohol use
• Stress management