What is Cardiac Rehabilitation?
Cardiac Rehabilitation is an exercise program designed to help strengthen your heart and muscles
after a heart attack or heart surgery. Cardiac Rehab has two major components:
-Exercise training to help you learn how to exercise safely, strengthen your muscles to and improve your stamina.
-Education, counseling and training to help you understand your heart condition and find ways toreduce your risk of future heart
Who Needs Cardiac Rehabilitation?
People of all ages and ethnic backgrounds can benefit from Cardiac Rehabilitation. Cardiac Rehab may help people who have had:
-A heart attack
-Angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary artery heart disease
-Heart valve repair or replacement
-A heart transplant or a lung transplant
Cardiac Rehab is equally helpful to both men and women. It can improve your overall health and prevent future heart problems and even death.
Phase I Cardiac Rehabilitation
During your hospital stay, a cardiac rehab specialist will direct your early activities. You will receive information about the recovery process and learn how to reduce your future risk of cardiovascular disease.
Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation
Soon after you are discharged from the hospital, you can enter an outpatient Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation program. Once your doctor has provided a referral, the rehab team can help you get started in the program. Your first visit will include an exercise evaluation for safety, a discussion about exercise guidelines, a review of your medical history and an evaluation of your cardiovascular disease risk factors.
What Kind of Exercises Will I Be Doing?
Your program includes aerobic exercises of the large muscle groups in your arms and legs to help you improve your endurance and strength. We will select a special group of exercises on machines such as treadmills, arm machines, bicycles and/or free weights, to specifically meet your needs.
I am exercising at home. Why should I come to Cardiac Rehab?
You will be connected to a telemetry monitor, while you exercise, so your heart rate and rhythm are closely monitored. Your blood pressure and workload are also evaluated. This will give you an idea of what activity level you can safely do at home. We will teach you how to reduce your risk of future heart problems.
How much will my insurance cover?
If you have had a heart attack or heart surgery, most insurance provides some coverage of Cardiac Rehabilitation. Medicare covers 80% of the cost if you have had a heart attack, angina or coronary bypass surgery in the last 12 months.
Cardiac Rehab helps you to improve your health by focusing on:
Contact the Ottawa County Wellness Center at 785-392-3456 to get started! (Or stop by: located on the east side of the Ottawa County Health Center, 215 E. 8th Street, Minneapolis, KS)
*Physician Referral Required
-Controlling high blood pressure
-Reducing high blood cholesterol
-Preparing for your return to work
-Recognizing heart disease signs and symptoms and when to seek medical treatment
-Beginning a personalized exercise program that is effective, safe and appropriate for your health, age and physical activity
-Reducing the potential of a new heart
attack through risk factor modification
Judette Fields, CFP, BLS, ACLS