Cardiac
Rehabilitation
Cardiac
rehabilitation is a physician-supervised program
for people who have either a congenital (present
at birth) or acquired heart disease. Cardiac rehabilitation
can often improve function, reduce symptoms, and
improve the well-being of the patient. About 10
to 15 percent of patients seeing a physiatrist
suffer from some form of heart disease.
Some
of the conditions or procedures that may benefit
from cardiac rehabilitation may include, but are
not limited to, the following:
- congestive heart failure
- angina pectoris
- heart attack (myocardial
infarction)
- post-open heart surgery
- post-heart transplantation
- angioplasty
- implanted pacemaker
- congenital heart disease
- arrhythmias (abnormal
heart rhythms)
Cardiac
rehabilitation programs can be conducted on an
inpatient or outpatient basis. Many skilled professionals
are part of the cardiac rehabilitation team, including
any/all of the following:
- cardiologist/cardiovascular
surgeon
- physiatrist
- internist
- rehabilitation nurse
- dietitian
- physical therapist
- occupational therapist
- exercise physiologist
- social worker
- psychologist/psychiatrist
- recreational therapist
- case manager
- chaplain
- vocational counselor
A cardiac
rehabilitation program is designed to meet the
needs of the individual patient, depending upon
the specific heart problem or disease. Active
involvement of the patient and family is vital
to the success of the program.
The
goal of cardiac rehabilitation is to help the
patient return to the highest level of function
and independence possible, while improving the
overall quality of life - physically, emotionally,
and socially. These goals are often met by:
- decreasing cardiac
symptoms and complications.
- encouraging independence
through self-management.
- reducing hospitalizations.
- stabilizing or reversing
atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the blood
vessels).
- improving social, emotional,
and vocational status.
In order
to help reach these goals, cardiac rehabilitation
programs may include the following:
- medication management
to help reduce cardiac symptoms, complications,
and hospitalizations
- exercise programs to
help build fitness and improve endurance
- methods to improve
independence and activities of daily living
(ADLs)
- patient and family
education and counseling
- smoking cessation
- nutritional counseling
- stress management and
emotional support
- vocational counseling
Research
done on cardiac rehabilitation programs has found
them to benefit patients in the following ways:
- improve cardiac symptoms
- reduce blood cholesterol
levels
- reduce cigarette smoking
- improve psychosocial
well-being and reduce stress
- reduce death due to
heart disease
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