What is Cardiac Rehabilitation?
What does cardiac rehab involve?
Cardiac rehabilitation doesn’t change your past, but it can help you improve your heart’s future.
Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program designed to improve your cardiovascular health if you have experienced a heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery. Cardiac rehab has three equally important parts:
- Exercise counseling and training: Exercise gets your heart pumping and your entire cardiovascular system working. You’ll learn how to get your body moving in ways that promote heart health.
- Education for heart-healthy living: A key element of cardiac rehab is educating yourself: How can you manage your risk factors and take care of yourself? Quit smoking? Make heart-healthy nutrition choices?
- Counseling to reduce stress: Stress hurts your heart. This part of cardiac rehab helps you identify and tackle everyday sources of stress.
Cardiac rehab is a team effort
You don’t need to face heart disease alone. Cardiac rehab is a team effort.
You’ll partner with many health care professionals including doctors, nurses, pharmacists — plus family and friends — to take charge of the choices, lifestyle and habits that affect your heart.
Getting started
Here’s how to get going and make the most of cardiac rehab:
- Ask your doctor if you are eligible.
- Register for a cardiac rehab program if you’re eligible.
- Set goals for your heart health in consultation with your medical team.
- Work together to create a cardiac rehab plan.
- Take an active role in your care to achieve your goals.
- Keep taking your medications correctly.
- Call 911 if you experience new or worsening symptoms.